Religion and Music
by Gothic Dancer
Summary: There's a fine line between love and hate. Hidan, a gang member, and Tayuya, a flute prodigy, are about to decide which side they're on. AU, high school, HidanxTayuya, full summary inside
1. When I Met Her

Author's Note: Hello, Everyone

**Author's Note:** Hello, Everyone. This fanfic is one I've had in my head for a little while now, mostly because I love this crack pairing and have always wanted to write a story in a high school setting. Be aware that the whole fic is from Hidan's point of view. I hope you enjoy it. Just note that I'll be writing this in my spare time, since I have a few other fics I'm working on at my DA account.

**Summary:** He was a religious extremist gang member. She was a flute-playing prodigy and the daughter of a yakuza boss. Who would have thought their bad mouths would bring them together?

**Main Pairing:** HidanxTayuya

**Other Pairings:** PeinxKonan, SasorixDeidara, and hints at ItachixSasuke

**Rating:** M for strong language, violence, and sexual references (no actual sex though, sorry!)

**Title:** **Religion and Music**

**Chapter 1: When I Met Her**

As I stand here on this hill, the cherry blossoms falling behind me, I think back to when I first met her. It was a day like this about two years ago, maybe a little bit less. It was a few weeks after school had started. I was eighteen years old and beginning my third year here at Shinobi High School. No, it's not a high school for ninjas, Moron; it was founded by some psycho who _believed_ he was a ninja. At least that's the story I know. Depending on the person you talk to, someone could say that the man was a visionary and a genius. Others, like me, say the man was psycho, but no one really cares anymore. The school opened so damn long ago that no one gives a crap about its roots.

I should probably introduce myself. The name is Hidan. I graduated from this school a year ago, and I was one of those kids who swore that he would never come back. That was what I had said at the beginning of my third year anyway. Honestly, I never thought I'd come back because I was just so damn sick of the stupid place. For the first few weeks, I was late to school, and I would always whine about my work. My best friend Kakuzu would always tell me to shut the hell up and deal with it. He was a real slave driver, that bastard.

Now that I think about it though, I should thank him for his nagging and cold-heartedness. It's only because of him that I met _her_.

She was a REAL psycho when I first met her. No, she wasn't like the founder of our high school. She made that guy look _sane_.

Alright, I'll start at the beginning for all you slow-in-the-head idiots. It was the beginning of my third year, and…

Jashin, this sounds really cliché. Did I ever mention that I suck at telling stories?

Whatever.

Continuing now…

It was actually about a month into the school year when it happened. I walked through the school's front doors, late as usual, on a typical Thursday morning. My first period that day was geometry, and there was no way in hell I was going to sit through that crap. I'd let Kakuzu take care of it for me. He was good with numbers since the jerk was money-obsessed.

I walked into the bathroom and saw two fellow gang members there. Oh yeah, I should probably mention that I was in a motorcycle gang throughout high school. It was only a few of us, only about ten or so, but we were a tight group. We called ourselves "Akatsuki," and almost everyone in the school feared us. Only a few teachers didn't let us get away with murder…and by "murder," I mean that literally. Yeah, some of us were accused with murder in the past, but the charges were cleared in court. Heh, our leader sure did know how to bullshit a convincing story.

Just while I'm on the topic of the gang, I might as well introduce everyone. Pein was our leader, a really awesome guy with enough body piercings to put those guys in the world record books to shame. His bright, flaming orange hair led us fearlessly, but the blue, water-like hair of Pein's girl could extinguish that flame in a heartbeat. Konan was one hell of a bitch, I tell you. Sure, the girl was hot and all, but she was ruthless and damn cruel. If anyone bad-mouthed or hurt Pein, Konan would kick that poor, unlucky bastard's ass. Actually, sometimes, she did that to Pein just for the hell of it. That chick could beat the crap out of any guy. You wouldn't guess that if you saw her at home though. The girl's family owned a traditional inn, meaning that she often wore a kimono and served their customers. She was brilliant at geisha dances, flower arranging, the tea ceremony, and origami, which was her specialty. How ironic.

Itachi was the cool, silent one of the group. He really didn't like fighting that much, evident in his lifeless eyes and ignorant demeanor. He was sort of short but very slim, almost too skinny to be a guy, with long, black, shiny hair and a constantly tired expression. It wasn't until the middle of senior year when we found out that his looks were actually due to an illness. The only one he told about that was his best friend Kisame, the big, loud rebel of the group. He was one of those guys who liked to play dress-up, and his favorite make-up attire was that which made him look like a shark. He had a collection of swords though, so I guess he was pretty cool.

The other one in the group who liked to play dress-up was Zetsu. He was a weird one. He liked to paint his face half-black and half-white. What we didn't know was that the paint had symbolism. It turned out that Zetsu was schizophrenic, the poor guy. We sort of should have guessed though, since he was always talking to himself. We wondered why he was so good at having conversations with himself. In fact, the only guy he talked to was Tobi, the idiot of the group. No one really knew anything about Tobi though. He joined us a few days after I had joined, but we still don't know much about him. The guy always wore this freaky mask. I'm guessing he had scars or something on his face.

Sasori and Deidara were known as the "art brothers," though those two jerks had exact opposite ideas of what art was. Sasori was this redhead who hated to wait more than anything else. It was strange that his favorite things to make were things that lasted forever. Sasori was incredibly good with his hands, and he loved to make toys with different functions. Deidara was this blond pretty boy with a bad temper and really girly tastes. I swear, the guy had to have been a transvestite, because he was always wearing these fishnet shirts that showed off his arms, chest, and stomach. Either that or he was a total whore. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if either of those things were true. Wait, what was his art? He liked to sculpt things and then blow them up. Yeah, I don't get it either.

Speaking of the two of them, they were the ones I found in the boys' room…making out against the wall. Deidara was up against the cold tile, his long hair messed up and his fishnet shirt and school uniform shirt bunched up at his neck. Sasori was _molesting_ his mouth and desperately trying to strip his lover of his clothes. I stood there emotionless. I was used to their sex-in-the-bathroom routine by now.

"Good morning to you, too," I muttered, walking into the room and stopping in front of one of the mirrors.

Sasori and Deidara paused and looked up at the familiar voice. "Oh, Hidan," Deidara panted, "it's only you." He caught his breath and relaxed against Sasori's chest. "You skipped first period again? That's the third time this week."

"So what?" I groaned. "I hate geometry like the plague."

"But you've got English first period on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, don't you? Why did you skip Monday and Wednesday but go to geometry on Tuesday?" Sasori gasped, rubbing Deidara's back. The blonde moaned. "I've never heard you complain about English. You already got senioritis?"

"Kakashi-sensei is a total book whore who makes us read crap," I spat, looking at myself in the mirror. I pulled a tube of hair gel out of my backpack and squirted it out onto a small black comb I always held in my back pocket. I worked the gel into my hair, pushing it backwards. Yes, I am OCD when it comes to my hair. Shut the hell up. "I only went to geometry on Tuesday because that bastard Kakuzu didn't take notes for me from Saturday's class, and I needed to attend or Asuma-sensei would have given me detention." I finished with my hair and put the comb away. "Jashin, I hate that man. I wish he would die."

"So kill him and have Pein come up with a story in case you get caught!" Deidara insisted, pushing himself against the redhead. "Sasori-sama, give me some loving…" he whined.

Sasori glared in my direction. "You done, Narcissus?" he growled. "We were just getting to the good part."

"Sorry to interrupt your gay ass-sex," I hissed. "I'll leave you to screw your blonde whore now."

"Bastard!" Deidara shouted. "I have never whored myself out!"

I smirked. "Really? The rest of the student population told me otherwise."

"BASTARD!!"

I shut the door to the boys' room and walked down the hallway towards my second period of the day: biology. Okay, I could stand this class. At least there could be cutting up of some poor, helpless animal done.

It turned out that we were dissecting cats that day. When I cut mine open, I found kitten fetuses inside. Yay! I was the lucky winner of the day!

So I cut them up, too.

Why am I such a cruel bastard, you ask? Well, it's all connected back to my religion. You see, I follow this one god named Jashin. The principles of Jashinism say that carnage and sacrifice are part of the religion. They're sacred to me! So whenever I get the chance, I kill something or cut it up if it's already dead.

In other words, yes, I'm the kind of jerk who kills kittens.

But…these were already dead, so that sort of took the fun out of it. Oh well.

The rest of the day is a blur to me. I guess I must have gone to the rest of my classes, but maybe I fell asleep. I must have during the last period though, because the only thing I can remember from that class, music class, was Kakuzu dragging me out of the room while I was trying to relax. I remember cursing the moron off for a while and then being thrown against the bathroom wall.

"Jashin!" I hollered as the back of my head met with the tile. "What the hell's your problem, Kuzu?" I snapped. "You're more pissy than usual today."

"Because you missed geometry this morning!" my friend snapped back. "You've hardly been to class at all, and you're in danger of failing! I can't keep on making up excuses for you forever!! Asuma-sensei is going to kick my ass if I tell him one more time that you're not there!"

"So kick his ass back!" I insisted, trying to get away. Kakuzu grabbed me by my uniform collar and slammed me back against the wall. I cursed loudly just as Pein walked in.

"Don't tell me that you two are having a make-out, sex-in-the-bathroom session, too," he groaned. "I can't tell you how many times I've walked in on the art brothers right in the middle of doing it." He paused to rub his forehead. "No amount of therapy will ever make those images go away."

"I'M NOT GAY, BASTARD!!" I shouted, pushing Kakuzu away. I stomped right up to Pein and glared into his gray eyes. "Hey, I need some help. Make up some excuse for me so that I don't need to go to geometry anymore."

Pein shook his head. "Do me a favor and at least graduate, okay?" he sighed. "It would be really embarrassing if you didn't graduate but Tobi did."

"Tobi?!" I gasped. "What the hell are you talking about? He's an idiot!"

"Yeah, but his grades have suddenly improved."

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Yeah, he's apparently getting an A in almost all of his classes."

My face dropped. There was no way IN HELL I was going to lose to THAT idiot. "Fine!" I agreed. "I'll go to the damn class!"

"Then you'll want to go see Asuma-sensei first," Kakuzu insisted from behind me as he washed his hands. "He's pissed at you, but maybe he'll cut you some slack if you apologize."

I hung my head and whined. "Damn, I just want to kill him…"

"Please don't," Pein almost begged. "I really don't feel like going to court this school year. It's our senior year! We SHOULD be making the most of it. We should be out there having fun and--!"

"PEIN, GET YOUR PIERCED UP, ORANGE ASS OUT HERE."

No question as to who THAT was.

"I'm coming, Konan," our leader replied, walking out of the bathroom. Kakuzu finished up and walked with me outside to see the blue-haired girl standing there, tapping her foot with an annoyed look on her face.

"Why the hell did you take so long in there?" she asked, pure poison dripping from her lips. "Watching those two follow the art brothers' lead?"

"FOR THE LOVE OF JASHIN, I'M NOT FUCKING GAY!!"

"Stop shouting, Stupid. There are still some students here."

Konan frowned distastefully and took her boyfriend by the arm. "Let's get out of here. I want you to take me to the arcade." She leaned against his shoulder. "Will you buy me an ice cream cone?"

"Sure, Konan, anything for you."

Kakuzu and I watched as the two of them left. We were silent for a long time even after they did. I was the first one to speak.

"Are those two even in love?"

"Stop procrastinating and get to Asuma-sensei."

I glared at my friend, flipped him off, and walked down the hallway towards my teacher's classroom. I swallowed the lump in my throat that told me I was in for the scolding of my life and walked inside. There, I saw my teacher grading a few papers, a cigarette hanging from his lips. Wasn't he part of the school campaign to get kids _not_ to smoke?

"Yeah," I murmured, "I'm sorry for missing class this morning."

Asuma-sensei looked up. "And what about all the other times?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry for those, too."

My teacher snorted. "Like hell you are. I know your type."

I groaned. "Listen, just don't fail me, okay?" I reasoned. "I want to graduate."

"If you want to graduate so much, come to class." Asuma put out his cigarette in the nearby ashtray. "Starting Saturday, I expect you to come every morning. If you need extra time to do your hair in the morning, wake up earlier." He could tell that I was hating this, I knew. Suddenly, he smirked. "If you clean up the classroom today, I won't give you a detention, and I'll give you a chance for extra credit. Fair?"

How could I argue?

So I spent my Thursday afternoon cleaning up my most hated teacher's classroom. Fun.

When I was finally done, Asuma-sensei asked me one last thing. "Take these papers down to the principal, would you?" he requested. "Then you can go home."

Surprisingly enough, I complied and didn't complain. I think I was desperate enough to do anything to go home, even if that meant doing something for a man I couldn't stand. I was just about to open the door to the principal's office when it came flying at me instead. I cried out and fell backwards, totally losing the papers. I rubbed my head and groaned, and when I opened my eyes, there was a girl in front of me. She seemed to be in serious pain from the way she held onto herself and had her eyes screwed tightly shut.

"Oh crap," I gasped, "we both took a major hit from that." My head throbbed. "Jashin, this hurts like hell. Hey, are you okay?" I crawled over to the girl. "You don't look that good."

"SHUT THE HELL UP, BASTARD!!" the girl suddenly screamed, grabbing at my shirt collar. "What's with you bumping into me like that?! Clumsy idiot!" She growled low. "I should friggin' kick your ass for this! As if I was having enough of a bad day as it was!" She threw me off to the side and stood. "Shit, don't you DARE mess with me again! You'll regret it!"

With that, she turned and ran out the school's main doors. I could only sit there are stare. Who the hell _was_ that girl? There were no chicks like that at Shinobi High! The only girl who even resembled that was Konan, but even she had more class than that…THING. She was a COMPLETE psycho!

The principal walked out of her office and sighed. "Damn, I lost her again. That girl really needs to control her temper."

I looked up at Tsunade, the principal. Pfft. Like SHE was one to talk.

Tsunade looked down at me. "You okay, Hidan?" she asked, offering her hand. I took it and stood. "Tayuya didn't hurt you, did she?"

I shook my head. "No, but I think I'm experiencing a form of shell shock."

Tsunade nodded. "As expected from an encounter with Tayuya." She bent down and gathered the papers up. "Oh good, these are those lesson plans from Asuma I wanted." She flipped through a few more of the papers until she came upon something interesting. "Oh," she gasped, "Tayuya forgot her music sheets."

I perked up. "Music sheets?"

"Yeah. Would you return them to her, Hidan? I don't think she'll listen to me."

"Like hell I'm going to look for _that_ crazy bitch!"

"I had a feeling you'd say that. Oh well, would you just hang onto them in case you _do_ see her again? Then you can just give them back to her without getting into another fight."

I must have been in a decent mood, because I took the music without another word, stuffing the sheets into my backpack. Tsunade smiled as I left school. Damn. That woman was probably just trying to get me to do this so she wouldn't have more paperwork to deal with.

I walked out to the parking lot and found my black and red bike waiting for me. I smiled at the thought of getting on and going home, but something stopped me from doing so. I still have no idea why this suddenly came to mind, but I opened my backpack and looked at the music sheets. The instrument meant for the music was printed in bold letters at the top.

"So this Tayuya chick's a flute player."

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. When I Saw Her

Author's Note: Hello, Everyone

**Title:** **Religion and Music**

**Chapter 2: When I Saw Her**

Almost as soon as I got to my apartment, my phone rang. I threw my backpack on the floor and trudged over to my nightstand, picking up the old-fashioned phone without looking at the ID.

"Hello?" I greeted dully. "Who is this?"

"There's a meeting tonight," the voice on the other end said. I immediately recognized it as Itachi. I could tell anyway, because the jerk never introduced himself over the phone for fear of wiretaps or something. The guy was seriously paranoid. "Tobi's apartment at eight." Without another word, the line went dead.

I kept the phone to my ear for a moment. If there was a gang meeting, why hadn't Pein, Konan, or Kakuzu said something to me while we were at school? It wasn't as if we would have gotten in trouble; everyone at school was so damn scared of us that they didn't dare question us or what we were doing. Selfish bastards, my friends were.

I could understand the art brothers not telling me though. After all, they had been a little preoccupied this morning.

I set the phone back down in its place and sat on my bed. Looking down at my feet, I realized I had forgotten to take my shoes off. Whatever. It wasn't as though my apartment was super high class or that I had people I needed to impress. There was nothing like that. The apartment was located in one of the cheapest parts of town, and it showed. The place was an absolute mess for the most part, with all sorts of crap lying around and miscellaneous things cluttering the floor. I can't tell you how many damn times I've cursed myself for being this messy, especially whenever I think about how OCD I am about my appearance.

Speaking of which, I hadn't checked my hair in a long time. I got up and walked into the bathroom only to stare, horrified, at my reflection. All the work I had done for Asuma-sensei had left my hair parted in the middle and falling onto the sides of my face. My eyes were wide. "SHIT!!" I suddenly cried, grabbing the comb out of my back pocket. I raided my medicine cabinet for the hair gel and quickly slicked the substance through the silver strands. "That bastard!!" I continued as I worked feverishly. "It's all because of him!!"

As soon as I was done, I slammed the comb down on the counter and looked at myself. Okay, the hair was better, that was a start. How about the rest of me? I took off my uniform shirt and examined the skin on my chest. Yes, it was all perfectly pale without any marks or bruises. Good, especially after Kakuzu had thrown me into the wall. That asshole…

I was just about to head back into my bedroom when something on my neck caught my eye. There was a bruise on my neck. A BRUISE. A FRIGGIN' BRUISE. For a few long, silent moments, I just stood there, staring. Someone had managed to mar my skin. Who would _dare_?!

"What _the hell_?!" I asked myself. "How did THAT get there?!" I thought back to the beginning of my day. Yeah, Kakuzu had thrown me into the bathroom wall, but he had only grabbed my collar. And, if anything, my uniform shirt had been buttoned down, so if he had made any wounds on my skin, they would have appeared on my chest.

And suddenly, it hit me. Tayuya. The psycho, pink-haired, flute-playing, I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass chick had hurt me when she had grabbed my collar! She had grabbed me closer to my neck than my chest, so it would only make sense that she would have hurt me.

"THAT BITCH!!" I screamed, throwing my uniform shirt to the floor. "THAT DAMN BITCH!!" I seriously wanted to kill someone or something right then and there. _Anything_ would have made me feel better.

However, sadly, there was nothing to kill in my apartment at the time. I considered going out and buying something, but it would have been a waste. Wait, let me curse and slap myself. That was totally out of character for me; I sounded like Kakuzu, that money-grubbing bastard.

Actually, he was the first one I called. He could put up with my whining.

I dialed his number on my home phone; it only took two rings for him to pick up his cell.

"What do you _want_, Hidan?" he spat. "I'm at work. Unless you're looking to order something, I suggest you hang up."

"Do you know a girl named Tayuya?"

"What? No, I don't. What's this about?"

"The bitch bruised my neck!"

"Dude, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!! THE BITCH HURT MY NECK!!"

There was a long silence. I heard the background noise of the bar where Kakuzu worked, but I didn't hear my friend for a few good minutes. I also couldn't image the look on his face. Was he shocked? Sympathetic? Neutral?

"So why are you complaining to _me_?" he finally asked. "If this Tayuya chick pissed you off so much, why don't you just hunt her down and beat the crap out of her? Don't tell me you've suddenly adopted a code of chivalry, okay? You've never had a second thought about beating up a girl; you've done it more times than I can count."

"Don't you GET IT?!" I exploded. "The girl HURT MY NECK. There is A BRUISE on my fucking neck! I _look_ like an IDIOT!!"

"And you sound like one, too!" Kakuzu shouted. "Don't call me again until the meeting at Tobi's tonight! I don't want to hear anymore of your whining, complaining, or bullshit!"

"That's right!" I realized, slapping my palm on my bed. "If there was a meeting at Tobi's tonight, why didn't you tell me while we were at school?! No one would have cared, damn it!"

"Did you think to cover the bruise up?"

"DON'T SUDDENLY TALK LIKE YOU'RE CARING ABOUT ME!!"

With that, I slammed the phone down on its base. Two seconds later, I realized I had been tricked into hanging up.

Even today, I _still_ spend a lot of my free time coming up with ways I can kill that damn bastard.

I groaned and let my head drop. I _knew_ I should have skipped school today. I just _knew _it. If I had, I wouldn't have had to have witnessed the art brothers have sex in the bathroom, I wouldn't have had to work for Asuma-sensei, that jerk, and I my skin would still be perfect. Shit, I was totally having an emo moment.

I spent most of the afternoon lazing around my apartment, not doing much. At one point, I got up and had a snack, an ice cream bar in my mini fridge on the other side of the room. Strawberry-flavored, it was. The little bits of fruit reminded me of the color of blood, and the color of the cream matched my eyes. Wow, okay, that sounded gay, sorry. It was true though. My eyes were this bright pink color that I had always liked.

…Hey, real men wear pink, damn it.

Around five, I hauled my ass out of bed and sat down to do some homework. I figured that in order to survive this last school year, or, at the very least, geometry class, I had to put _some_ effort into my work. I at least had to finish the assignment, and, actually, when I sat down to do it, I realized that there wasn't really much to it. Okay, so a right triangle had an angle at 90 degrees and one of those little boxes in the corner. That wasn't _too _hard. Don't be thinking that I suddenly loved geometry though. That was only _one_ aspect of it that I understood. The rest was a total blur to me.

But, hey, I finished the assignment, and that was what was important, right?

When I looked at the clock again, it was only five-thirty. Perfect. I had some time to perform a ritual before I headed out towards Tobi's. I moved my bed back towards the wall to reveal a painted symbol on my floor: a triangle within a circle in a bright red color. In the center of the triangle was a mid-length scythe with three blades.

Now, how exactly do these rituals go? Well, I don't feel like explaining it. All you need to know is that they involve blood, a lot of blood. I pressed the blades down into my arm and made cuts that bled onto the floor. Part of the reason why the symbol on the floor was red was not just because of good paint; my blood was usually part of it.

It was a little past six when I was done. Slowly, I picked myself up and cleaned the blood on my skin off. My skin had already begun to heal, and I could see the beginning of new skin forming over the cuts. Okay, so that would keep Jashin-sama happy for a while. Now it was time to gather myself together for the meeting. Tobi's apartment was a good half-hour away, even on a motorcycle.

I spent the next hour eating some decent food before I headed out. The ice cream had digested by now, so I was hungry, and, even if I wasn't, it was probably a good idea to get something into my system after losing all that blood. I washed a single serving of rice and put it in the cooker, and while I waited for that, I heated up some leftover chicken and drizzled it in soy sauce. It sounds pathetic, I know. Shut up. If your parents had abandoned you at the tender age of seven, you would live poorly and dully, too. Now, seriously, shut the hell up.

Once everything was hot, I put it all together and shoved it in my mouth. Not too bad. Of course, I wasn't this expert cook or anything. If there was anyone in Akatsuki who could cook though, it was Konan. Working for an inn, the girl had to know about foods necessary for ceremonies. I had only eaten her food twice, but damn, it was awesome. Of course, she would only cook for Pein. The only reason I got to try it was because the rest of the gang had been over for meetings.

I finished dinner, threw my paper plate and disposable chopsticks out, donned my leather jacket, and headed out the door. On our way too meetings and during meetings, everyone had to wear this black leather jacket with a red cloud on the back to show our unity. It also just so happened that we all looked awesome in them. The best part was that I didn't need to wear a shirt underneath. No, I'm not a nudist, you perverts. I just don't like wearing shirts. Yes, I wear pants. I enjoy wearing pants. Get your minds out of the gutter.

I still had plenty of time to get to Tobi's house, so I figured I'd stop at the bar where Kakuzu worked for a drink. I had a fake ID, but he would always let me in anyway. That was the only thing the jackass was good for, or so I had always believed. I had my backpack with me, just in case, and there was a good possibility that Pein would have papers for us describing tasks we had to perform for the gang.

I hopped on my bike, put my helmet on, and let the baby go. Damn, I loved this bike. I loved this bike more than I had ever loved anything else before. It was so sleek and powerful. I loved the feeling of the hot, burning engine and the cold metal that would gradually get warmer with my body heat. I loved the handling and how fast the wheels could go. Whenever I was on this thing, oh man, it felt better than sacrificing those kittens to Jashin. _This_ was bliss and I almost forgot about the bruise on my neck.

It all suddenly rushed back to me though, when I saw one of the last people on earth I wanted to see. Yeah, up ahead, Tayuya was walking down the street. She had changed out of her school uniform, but she was still wearing a skirt with a typical t-shirt. Her hands were in her skirt pockets, and her head was down. She walked slowly along the sidewalk, never once looking up.

Actually, she looked quite harmless like this.

Now, any normal guy would have just kept going, trying to forget about the music sheets in his backpack, but if you haven't figured it out by now, I'll explain it: I am NOWHERE near normal.

I stopped on the side of the road a few feet from where Tayuya was. I turned off the engine and slipped the helmet off, shaking my head to free it from the sweat. I didn't feel my hair fall out of place, so I was content. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the music sheets.

If you're wondering why I was performing this act of charity, it was simple. The sooner I returned the chick's music, the sooner I could forget about her.

"Tayuya," I said to get her attention. The pink-haired girl's head shot up, and her brown eyes widened. "You forgot your music sheets when we bumped into each other earlier today. The principal gave them to me to return to you. Could you just take them so we don't have to have anything more to do with each other? You don't even have to thank me. Just take them and leave."

I thought I was being quite reasonable, but this psycho apparently didn't agree. After a long moment of silence, she walked right up to me and punched me in the face.

I stood there, completely shocked, trying to comprehend what had just happened. I was being so…_nice_. Talk to Kakuzu! I'm _never_ nice!!

"BITCH!!" I screamed once I had recovered. "What THE FUCK was THAT for?!"

Tayuya snatched the papers out of my hand and tore them to shreds. "I left them there on purpose, dumbass," she muttered, her gaze not meeting mine.

My eyes widened. "Why THE HELL would you do THAT?!" I gasped. "Aren't you a flute player? Don't you need that music to play your instrument? Hell, I don't know a damn thing about music, but aren't the notes the most important part of playing the instrument?"

"Not if they're all in your head," the girl whispered.

I was silent. The stuff on those papers had looked like pretty complicated shit.

"Do you mean to tell me that you had those sheets _memorized_?"

Tayuya shot me an angry glare. "Don't you DARE insult me!" she spat. "I don't need a shitty piece of paper to tell me what to play! All the musicians who wrote that trash are nothing!"

What the hell was this girl _on_?!

"I don't get you," I finally admitted.

"You don't need to," the psycho replied. "Just know that I don't need a piece of paper to tell me what the right note is. That's not how I play."

"Then how _do_ you play?" I questioned.

"That's none of your damn business!"

This was going _nowhere_.

After another moment of silence, Tayuya's face turned red.

"BASTARD!!" she shouted. "Is that anyway to present yourself to a lady?!" She pointed to my bare chest. I almost laughed. The "I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass" chick was getting flustered because of a man's chest. I bet she had never even _seen_ a man's chest before.

"You're right," I sighed. "It isn't a way to present myself to a lady." I paused. "However, you're not much of a lady with that dirty mouth of yours. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that you're obviously mind-molesting my chest, I wouldn't say you were female at all."

Tayuya's jaw dropped. "YOU FUCKER!!" she cried, swinging another punch at me. I knew that punch though, and I quickly dodged and punched her in the chest. Tayuya coughed and spat up some saliva as she fell backwards. I flexed my fingers. Damn, if she didn't have long, pink hair, an eye for a perfectly sculpted chest, and a skirt, I'd say she really WAS a man. She had the lack of a chest to prove it.

"Damn," I heard her gasp, "you're good." She smirked and stood, brushing her tan skirt off. "You're better than my brothers."

…WHAT? BROTHERS?!

"I think I may have found my new trainer," she snickered. "You could teach me a thing or two about kicking a jerk's ass. My brothers have NOTHING on that punch, and one of them is a pro wrestler. Hell, you could probably be HIS trainer!"

This chick had been _testing_ me?

"Whatever," she continued. "I hope I run into you again, asshole."

With that, she turned, ran down the sidewalk, and immediately made another turn. I ran up to where she had gone but couldn't see her. What was _up_ with that chick?! She didn't even seem _human_!

I looked at my watch and saw that I had about forty-five minutes to make it to Tobi's. Okay, that was enough. I walked back to my bike and got on. Before going anywhere though, I looked at the shredded papers on the ground. An interesting thought struck me.

"If she thinks that stuff is trash," I murmured to myself as I put my helmet on, "I'd like to hear what she plays."

I started the engine and made my way to the meeting.

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. When I Avoided Her

**Author's Note: **You guys are awesome!! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this little crack fic. XD I hope you enjoy it as it continues!

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 3: When I Avoided Her**

I made it to Tobi's apartment with less than a few moments to spare. Everyone else was already there, making themselves comfortable. I was just thankful that the idiot's room was on the second floor, meaning that there weren't so many stairs for me to climb in the ten-story building.

"Nice of you to join us, Hidan," Konan spat as I walked through the door, forgetting to take off my shoes, once again. "You mind taking those boots off? Tobi's apartment isn't full of crap like yours." She flipped some of her blue hair over her shoulder as she sat on Pein's lap. I sent her a death glare.

"Bitch," I mumbled, slipping my boots off and leaving them with the other shoes at the front door. I ran a hand through my hair just to make sure it was still all in place and sat down on the floor next to Kakuzu. It was a tradition that the last person to arrive always had to sit on the floor as punishment, even if there were chairs or spaces on couches still available. Once my ass was placed, I took a moment to look around my fellow gang member's room. It was significantly nicer than mine. To start, there wasn't trash all over the place, and the furniture was relatively clean. Like many of us, Tobi lived alone, so I figured that he had to be something of a neat freak.

Either that, or he was just trying to impress us.

My guess was that he wanted Deidara, that whore.

"Alright, let's begin," Pein announced. "To start, everyone say their codeword."

Codewords were what we used to identify ourselves and prove that we weren't spies in disguise. We all had silver rings with the kanji for our codewords carved on them in black against a red background. We all took them from our pockets and slipped them on our fingers. One by one, we all said our words. Itachi was next to Kakuzu, who was next to me, so I started paying attention when I heard his dull voice.

"Crimson," he murmured.

"North," Kakuzu said.

"Three," I added.

After that, I didn't care.

"Okay," Pein finally finished, "we're all here." He paused for a moment. "We have a few very specific assignments here. We're going man-hunting."

I perked up. Okay, maybe this meeting WOULDN'T be torture!

"Sources have told us that nine people are plotting against us," Konan continued. "These nine people are making up their own gang and trying to combat us. They want to take over our turf." She licked her lips and smirked. "I say we get rid of them...the fun way."

"Are they really such a big threat?" Sasori asked as Deidara wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Sure, there's only ten of us, so people wouldn't think that we're such a huge threat, but we are. Is this gang that strong?" He pulled Deidara into his lap. "If they're just a bunch of kids, I say we don't bother. It would take up too much time."

"Wait a second, Sasori," Pein insisted. The redhead snorted. Our leader just rolled his gray eyes and continued, "We also believe that these people are from completely different schools. They're supposedly doing this in order to avoid arousing suspicion."

"So they're doing all this from behind the scenes?" Kisame asked. "That makes no sense! If they want to challenge us, they should make themselves known! They should build up a reputation." He folded his arms and narrowed his small eyes.

Pein sighed. "I don't know why they're doing this," he admitted. "The only thing I do know is that they call themselves the Jinchuuriki. There are nine of them total, and they each represent a different animal." He reached into his pocket and held up a photo. "This is the first one I could get any information on. He's known as the 'One-Tailed Tanuki.' Sasori, I believe you may know his brother."

Sasori took a long, hard look at the picture, and his eyes suddenly widened. "Yeah, I know his brother!" he exclaimed. "He's this weird guy with crazy war paint who always buys my toys whenever a new model comes out." He sat back and nodded. "I've seen his brother a few times. He's supposedly an insomniac who's been charged with murder in the past." He paused and realized what he had just said. "...That's just like us."

Deidara's head shot up. "That means that these guys COULD be as strong as we are, un!" he cried. "What about the other members? Any news on them, un?"

Pein nodded and pulled a few more photos from his pocket. He had eight of them in his hands. Added to the first one, he had information on all nine. "This girl is known as the 'Two-Tailed Cat'." He pointed to a photo of a girl with a long ponytail. "She has a reputation around that fancy Lightning Private School for being pretty tough."

As Pein explained each of the enemies in the photos, I couldn't keep my mind from drifting off. Damn, I wanted another strawberry ice cream bar, and I wanted one _badly_. Actually, there were times when I questioned why I wanted those bars so much, because I wanted them _constantly_.

As I started thinking about the dessert, my mind randomly went over to Tayuya. Shit, that girl was haunting my thoughts, I knew it. Chances were good I'd dream of her that night. I groaned at the idea of it but couldn't keep myself from focusing on her. I remembered her long, pink hair and her big, brown eyes. Jashin, her hair was shiny, and her eyes were the color of dark chocolate.

Now I wanted a strawberry ice cream bar dipped in dark chocolate.

I slapped myself.

"Hidan!"

I broke out of my trance and nearly fell over, even though my ass was already on the floor. THAT was how out of it I had been. I looked up and everyone staring at me.

"Why did you just slap yourself?" Pein asked, lifting an eyebrow. Konan giggled in my direction, and I flipped her off.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I just fell into a bit of a trance."

"Save your ridiculous rituals for when you're back at your own apartment," Kakuzu snapped. "We don't need any of your blood on Tobi's carpet."

"Oh, that's okay!" Tobi insisted. "I know how to get rid of blood stains!"

"That's not the _point_, Tobi."

"Enough," Pein groaned. "Now that all of these people have been explained, I'm going to assign each of you to one of them. You'll have to work in groups to get these guys. We won't go after all of them at once since we should probably try to weaken them before doing anything drastic." He pushed the picture of 'One-Tail' in Sasori's direction. "You and Deidara take him. You can get close to him through his brother and then take him out."

Deidara studied the photo and then played with his blond hair. "Gladly," he agreed. "This guy is freaking ugly."

Pein passed the photo of the 'Two-Tails' in my direction. "You two take her," he told us. "This will be a good opportunity for the two of you to work on your teamwork."

"What the hell?" I asked. "What's wrong with our teamwork? We're best friends!"

Kakuzu sighed. "There is SO something wrong with our teamwork."

"No, there isn't, dumbass!"

The room was silent.

Pein coughed.

"Yes, that is EXACTLY what I'm talking about."

The rest of the meeting was just assignments. I mostly bitched and moaned about it. I didn't want to deal with this ponytail chick, and I couldn't stand looking at Konan's obnoxious face, that damn bitch.

"Itachi," I heard Pein say, "you and Kisame should take 'Nine-Tails'."

"What about 'Eight-Tails'?" the black-haired man asked.

"Ask your brother to do it."

"But my brother is good friends with 'Nine-Tails.' Have him go after him."

"Trust me, this will be easier." Pein pointed to the two photos. "Eight-Tails" was this big, brawny guy who looked like a major thug. "Nine-Tails" was this little blond kid with a stupid grin. "The two of you can take down the kid without a problem. Unfortunately, we'll need more people to take down 'Eight-Tails.' Get your brother and our secret members to do it. They're friends anyway."

Itachi snorted. "I don't know if I would call them friends."

Pein shook his head. "Just do it." He suddenly pushed Konan off his knee. I smirked as the girl stumbled to regain her balance. "And with that, this meeting is over. You can all go back to your normal lives now." He looked at Tobi. "Do you have anything to offer us?"

Tobi nodded. "Tobi made cupcakes!" He quickly scurried into the kitchen and brought back a tray of pastries. "Hee, all of you can have one! Itachi-san, I made an extra one for your brother!" I quietly shook my head as the guy started passing out the sweets. Not only was Tobi an idiot, but he had a bad habit of talking in the third-person.

"Wow, Tobi," Kisame realized as he was given a cupcake with light blue frosting and dark blue sprinkles, "you went all-out and made ones with our favorite colors." He grinned. "That's pretty cool of you." I always knew that Kisame had a soft spot for the orange mask-wearing moron.

Tobi giggled and turned towards the rest of the group. "Deidara-sempai!" he cheered. "I made one for you with EXTRA frosting!"

The guy SO wanted to get into that whore's pants.

"Hidan-san," he said to me, "this one is for you." He held up a treat with pink frosting and red sprinkles. "I hope you like it!"

I stared at the frosting. It reminded me of Tayuya.

Once the food was gone and people started leaving, Kakuzu pulled me into a corner of the hallway outside Tobi's room and pressed his finger against my lips to silence me. "Listen," he urged, "after you called me, I got a break from work. I did a little background check on that Tayuya girl you told me about." He leaned in close to me and whispered, "She's the daughter of Orochimaru."

My eyes shot open wide. No way. NO. _FUCKING_. WAY.

"That means that she's the daughter of a yakuza boss, one of the most famous of our time," my friend murmured. "I would stay away from her if I were you. Orochimaru used to be a member of Akatsuki until he graduated from high school. After that, he quickly rose in the ranks of the yakuza thanks to his gang experience. He was one of the best members Akatsuki ever had."

I pushed Kakuzu's finger away. "Exactly _how_ good was this bastard?" I asked.

"Let's put it this way: We've been accused of murder in the past, right? However, all charges were cleared in court. This guy was so good that he was never even caught in the first place. He could kill a target and get out of there before anyone even knew what was happening. He embezzled a ton of money from countless companies and was never even suspected." Kakuzu paused. "If this guy finds out you're seeing his daughter, he'll kill you, no doubt."

I grit my teeth. "I'm not _seeing_ her, asshole!" I whispered urgently. "I've run into her twice, and she's beaten me up! Look at my cheek!" I turned my head. "It's probably starting to fade right now, but you can see the remains of a punch mark there, can't you?"

Kakuzu squinted but soon took a step back. "Holy shit," he murmured. "This chick has SERIOUS issues, but she must be damn good if she can land a punch on you AND manage to hurt your neck all in one day." He shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe it." He quickly narrowed his eyes and stared at me. "Stay _away_ from her," he warned me. "You'll get worse if you meet up with her again."

I nodded and started walking down the stairs, my friend following me

I didn't want to think about not seeing Tayuya again.

In fact, I _wanted_ to see her, _badly_.

Unfortunately, I put my best avoidance tactics to work. I avoided Tayuya like the plague for at least two and a half months after that meeting. I was sure to keep a lookout for that long, pink hair and those chocolate brown eyes.

Still, part of me REALLY wanted to look into those eyes and touch that hair.

Damn it. DAMN IT. I was SO out of it!! This was NOT me! I wasn't supposed to be interested in dating. I knew I wasn't gay, but I was also not into girls. I figured I would spend the rest of my life alone, which was okay with me. When you grow up alone and don't feel any love from your family, you get used to the idea of living alone forever. I had no family to speak of, so the idea was even easier for me.

Besides, the Holy Book of Jashinism clearly states that one may not love; one may only hate.

When I had first learned about that though, I started realizing just how easy hate was. It was so damn easy to hate someone. To start off, I hated Asuma-sensei for being a slave-driving bastard and an uncaring jerk when it came to my hair. I hated Kakashi-sensei for being a book whore who made us read crappy so-called "classics" while he sat at his desk and read porn. I hated Konan for being a total bitch who just LOVED to watch me mess up. I hated Pein for constantly assuming I was gay and not always backing me up when I needed a good excuse. I hated Sasori for being an impatient asshole. I hated Deidara for being a whore or transvestite, whatever he was. I hated Zetsu for being just plain freaky. I hated Tobi for being an idiot who was now threatening to beat me in academics. I hated Kisame for his make-up. I hated Itachi for being so damn popular. I hated Kakuzu for being selfish and greedy.

For a long time, hate worked well with me.

I could live my life hating people, I knew. The more people you love, the lonelier you could feel, so I decided to hate everyone around me when I first converted to Jashinism after my parents had abandoned me.

However, I wasn't so sure if this strong feeling for Tayuya was hate or not.

This feeling I had...I don't know how to explain it. It was a bit like hate, I think, but there was a part of me that made me convinced that it was NOT hate. It was like...a feeling of envy...of jealousy...

...and _need_.

You know how sometimes you get so pissed off at someone that you just want to kill that person? And how that's the ONLY thing you can think about? How it messes up your life in every sense of the word? Like...it was some sort of torture happening inside. There were moments when I couldn't eat, not even my favorite ice cream bars. Any time I would try to eat, my stomach would flip, and I would lose my appetite, usually following by a long line of cursing and sacrifices to Jashin.

Hell, I was so damn crazy that I would sacrifice _anything_. If a stupid fly were to come into my room, it would be as good as dead on that symbol under my bed, sliced to bits with my scythe.

Looking back, that might have been just a little drastic.

Still, there was a part of me that felt as though this wasn't just pure hate. I knew what hate felt like, hell yeah, and this was NOT it. You know how if your mortal enemy gets beat up by some other enemy, you get all pissed? It was like that. It was as if my head was screaming, "I want to kill that damn bitch so badly! But I'm the only one who _can_ do it. If anyone else touches her, that asshole is as good as dead!"

So I wanted to kill her and protect her at the same time.

Oh, _shit_.

One night, I just got so frustrated with it all. I _needed_ a drink, so I headed out towards the bar where Kakuzu worked. He would let me in, no doubt.

But when I parked my bike next to the curb outside the bar, I almost considered going back home and hiding.

Tayuya was sitting on the bench outside.

I was just about to put my helmet back on and speed away, but two words stopped me.

"Hi, fucker."

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. When I Hurt Her

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 4: When I Hurt Her**

I should have run. I should have _fucking_ run.

But my head wasn't working. I wasn't fucking thinking straight.

My mind had been fucking _tortured_ for the past two and a half, almost three months, and I couldn't fucking _take it _anymore.

I turned.

"Hey, bitch."

Tayuya smirked. "So what's up with you lately?" she asked. "You punch me in the chest, I tell you I want to see you again, and you suddenly avoid me like I'm some serial rapist." She stood. "Yes, I admit that I was mind-molesting your chest. You get blue balls?"

I immediately flushed. "NO, I DID NOT, BITCH!!" I lifted my middle finger. "Damn you, but at least now I know you're interested in men."

"What do you mean, asshole?"

"I mean that, based on how you talk and act, you're practically a lesbian."

It was her turn to flush. "BASTARD!!" she cried out, sending my middle finger message back. "You STILL don't know how to present yourself to a lady!" She crossed her arms and sighed. "What _really_ made you avoid me? You find out who my father is?"

My eyes widened. Was this something she was used to?

"Yeah, I found out," I murmured. There was a long, awkward pause. "It doesn't have anything to do with you though." I shoved my hands into my pants pocket as Tayuya rolled her eyes.

"Bullshit," she spat. "That is absolute bullshit." She sent a glare in my direction. "Do you know why I don't have any friends? It's because everyone is so damn scared of my father."

"Or it could have something to do with your mouth."

"No, _really_?" she ask sarcastically. "I _never_ would have guessed." She frowned deeply.

My head spun. What was _up_ with this chick? She had just used her father as an excuse as to why she didn't have friends, so I had immediately assumed that she _wanted_ friends but couldn't have them because of her family. But she had just said that her mouth was _another_ reason for not having friends. If she really wanted friends, she should have started by being, oh, I don't know, POLITE?! Or maybe not cursing everyone off every two seconds would have been a good start.

"Do you even _want_ friends?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Tayuya's answer was short and sweet. "No."

Well, that cleared up EVERYTHING!

She looked back at me, but I sensed something strange about the look. She almost looked as if she were about to cry or, at the very least, whimper. I never thought I would see that look on her face. She always had that "I hate you" expression, so it was weird to see her looking like this, to see her so _vulnerable_.

"I don't even know your name," she finally told me. "I've been cursing you to Hell for months, and I don't even know who you are." She paused. "Would you tell me?"

My mouth suddenly went dry. She wanted to know my name? That was...almost polite! Was she trying to be friendly?

Nah, she just wanted to know the real name of the guy she was sending to Hell.

"I'm Hidan," I replied. "I'm a third-year at Shinobi High."

She nodded. "I'm Tayuya Sound," she introduced back. "I'm a first-year there."

My mind was suddenly clear as glass. It was so strange. It was as if all my frustrations about Tayuya had immediately left with just those few sentences. I felt as though we had started over. We had met quite strangely by bumping into each other and cursing each other off. Introducing ourselves so formally just felt so..._normal_. It was really like we were starting over! I didn't care what her reason for wanting to know my name was. She had asked for my name! I knew her full one! Tayuya Sound. It had a nice ring to it.

"Are you planning on going to college next year?" she asked me.

I gave her a thoughtful look. "I haven't really thought about it, "I confessed. "I don't know if I'm cut out for college..."

Tayuya snorted. "Lazyass."

News flash: The real Tayuya was back.

I shook my head. "Whatever." I started walking towards the door, but Tayuya caught the arm of my leather jacket. I turned to see her with determination in her eyes.

"Get me into this bar," she commanded. "I want a drink."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen. I have a fake ID though."

I sighed. "My best friend works here. He won't kick us out." With that, I opened the door to the bar, shuffled my way through the crowds, and sat down next to where I saw Kakuzu working. Tayuya sat down next to me. As soon as she did, she slapped her head into her palm and glared at my friend.

Kakuzu's eyes went wide. He hurried over to me. "Stupid!" he whispered urgently into my ear. "I told you to stay away from her! You know who her father is!"

"_She_ found _me_," I whispered back. "Just act normal, okay? Give her what she wants, and I'll make her leave."

Kakuzu sighed. "Fine. But you owe me one hell of a tip for this." He stood normally and looked at the both of us. "What can I get you?"

"A rum and Coke," I told him, "with plenty of ice."

My friend nodded. "And for the lady?"

Tayuya's face was still in her palm. "As many vodka shots as you can fit on this table."

There was a long, LONG moment of silence until Kakuzu shuffled towards me and whispered, "That chick is fucking _PSYCHO_." He stood up straight. "I'll start you off with three," he insisted. "If you want more, you can have more." He shook his head. "How old are you anyway?"

"Forty."

"Okay. Now answer honestly."

"Eighty."

Kakuzu groaned. "Smartass bitch," I heard him mutter. He turned towards me and shook his head again. "You really picked up an awesome one here," he growled. "She makes me want to copy the art brothers with you." He turned and got to work with our orders.

I looked at the pink-haired girl. Damn, she had to have been in a bad mood. Of course, I had seen her angry, but her behavior was just crazy. At that point, I was convinced that she really WAS insane. Yeah, she had much less sense than the founder of our school, definitely. I frowned at the thought of how much she had to have been hurting though. Even crazy people only acted like that when something was bothering them.

"What's wrong?" I asked as politely as I could.

Tayuya slowly lifted her head. "I hate my family," she told me. "I hate my father, and I hate my brothers."

So she was one who was used to a lot of hate, too. I felt sorry for her. I knew how THAT felt, and, trust me, it's not a great feeling. I think it was only made worse though because of the fact that Tayuya actually had a family. For me, who had no family, life was always lonely, sure, but I _did_ have friends. I always claimed to hate them, but there were _a few_ things I liked about them. My friends had actually become my family. Being in a gang had helped me forge bonds with other people in a way I never could before. Yes, sometimes they weren't the greatest bonds, but, regardless, they _were_ bonds. Having some bonds was better than having no bonds at all.

I guess I felt the sorriest for Tayuya when I remembered her saying she didn't even have any friends. To not have friends and to hate one's own family...that must have hurt. It had to have hurt more than any physical damage I could ever do to myself or a sacrifice during a ritual. To have all those people around you and feel alone must have been the worst kind of pain anyone could ever feel.

"Order up," Kakuzu announced, snapping me out of my thoughts. He pushed the mug of rum and Coke towards me and set the shot glasses down in front of Tayuya. She gulped one down quickly but hesitated before taking anymore. I took a sip of my drink and glanced back towards the girl.

"Why do you hate them so much?" I asked.

Tayuya looked up. "I hate them because they're all trying to make me play my flute for reasons I don't want to," she explained rather calmly. "Father is the worst. He wants me to learn that garbage you saw on those papers from a few months ago. He wants me to play that trash for a living."

I stayed silent for a moment. "What do YOU want to do?" I finally asked.

As soon as I posed the question, Tayuya's eyes began to sparkle. I don't mean they just brightened. No, the sparkled like the damn sun was shining out of them. "I want to play _my way_," she replied, almost giddy. "I want to show the world just how shitty that junk is and show them what can be played if you think of the music for yourself." She was practically grinning from ear to ear, just like a kid.

Needless to say, I was a bit freaked.

I took a big gulp from my drink. "So what about this family of yours?" I asked. "Full of assholes?"

The sparkles and grin disappeared. "And retards," Tayuya hissed, pulling a napkin towards her and taking a pen out of her pocket. "If you're that interested, here's the explanation on my idiotic brothers." She doodled a picture at the top of the napkin and wrote a name next to it. Actually, she wasn't half-bad at drawing. "The oldest is Kabuto," she explained. "He's in graduate school, learning about medicine. He wants to be a surgeon. He's twenty-seven."

I almost fell off the stool. "WHAT THE HELL?!" I shouted, balancing myself. "That means that he's eleven years older than you!" The gears in my head started turning. "Just how many brothers do you have?!"

"Six. They're all older than me."

The gears in my head came to a screeching halt. I don't think I've been that brain-dead since I was once stuck listening to Tobi tell me how much he loved being part of the Akatsuki.

Tayuya continued. "Right underneath him is Kimimaro. He's twenty-five." She drew another picture. "He's also studying medicine. He wants to specialize in treating bones. The only thing that's really ironic about him is that he's never been in the best health himself." I watched as she gulped down another vodka shot. There was something about Kimimaro that must have hit a sore spot. After a moment, she continued, drawing another picture. "Underneath him are the twins, Sakon and Ukon. They're twenty-three and studying together at the same college. They're studying physics with a focus on fusion...or fission...whatever. I don't know."

I nodded. That already sounded like a lot to put up with in one house.

"Kiddoumaru is under them," Tayuya explained as she drew another picture. "He's twenty-one and studying biology. He wants to focus on arachnids though, so he'll be working on that throughout graduate school." She drew another picture. "Right under him is Jirobou, who is nineteen, making him one year older than you. He graduated from Shinobi High last year, but he's not in college. He was discovered and became a pro wrestler."

My jaw dropped. "At nineteen?!"

Tayuya smirked. "Yup. He's alright but he's pretty stupid. He probably couldn't have gotten into college if he tried, so he's lucky he became what he did when he did." She suddenly frowned and drew one last picture. "And then there's me, the baby of the family at sixteen. Because I was so much younger than the oldest child, my brothers have always beaten the crap out of me, and that's how I learned to defend myself. Though my father has always doted on me, and I _hate_ it." She slammed the pen down and gulped down her third shot.

I had practically forgotten about my rum and Coke; I was just so damn absorbed in what Tayuya was saying. She seemed vulnerable again, and it was almost as if she could burst into tears at any given moment. I was quiet as I watched her face twist into pain.

"It was all because Mom died giving birth to me."

My heart stopped beating, and when it started again, it went into overdrive.

"He thinks that he has to give me everything I want and shit I don't even want to keep me happy. He thinks that that was all Mom wanted. He probably does it because he doesn't have any other women in his life to dote upon. He swears upon his damn life that he doesn't have any mistresses or work with any women in the yakuza. That's absolute bullshit." She slammed her palm on the table. "More shots!!" she shouted.

"Hey, hey!" I scolded. "You shouldn't drink anymore, damn it!" I reached out for her. "No more drinks for her, Kakuzu! She can't hold her liquor; she's drunk!"

"LET ME THE FUCK GO!!" Tayuya screamed, swatting my hand away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!!" She suddenly lost her balance and fell to the wooden floor. I gasped and hopped off my stool to check on her. I barely noticed that everyone in the bar had become very quiet; they were watching us.

"Tayuya!" I shouted. "Don't move! Don't move, damn it! You're drunk! You don't know what you're saying or doing!" I tried lifting her, but she started flailing around, screaming like an absolute moron. I braced myself against the bar table and held onto her, not daring to let that psycho bitch go.

"Hold on, Hidan," I heard Kakuzu sigh, "I know what to do." He stood behind Tayuya and slapped the back of her head. Suddenly, the girl's head dropped, and she was motionless. Quietly, I set her down on the floor. Her cheeks were flushed, and her skin was warm to the touch. It was so painful to see her like that.

Though, at the time, I couldn't figure out _why_ it was so painful.

I shook my head silently and picked her up. "Kuzu," I murmured, "could you help me get her on my back? And could you call a taxi...please?"

Kakuzu's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Uh, sure," he replied, assisting me in getting the girl on my back. As soon as he was done, he pulled out his cell. However, he didn't dial right away; I think he was shocked that I had actually said "please" when asking him for something.

I slowly walked outside the bar and out onto the sidewalk. I knew it wasn't a good idea to put an unconscious chick on a motorcycle. Besides, chances were good that if I had taken the taxi home, Kakuzu would have driven my bike back to my apartment. He himself didn't have a bike, so he would probably have ended up staying the night since his apartment was a good walk away from mine. I still keep telling him that he should get a bike, but he keeps refusing. He says they cost too much money.

I looked up and saw a white-haired man getting out of an expensive-looking car. His eyes softened when he saw me.

"I believe that's my sister you have there," he told me, smiling faintly. "Somehow, I knew she'd be here. It was the type of night where she'd want to get drunk." He walked up to me and took a hold of Tayuya. "I'll take her. Don't worry. She's in good hands. I'll bring her home and put her to bed."

I blinked a few times. "Uh," I stuttered, "I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but who exactly _are_ you? I mean, which of the brothers are you?"

The man grinned. "So she got drunk enough to tell you about our family, huh?" he asked. "I'm Kimimaro, the second oldest. Who are you?"

"Um...I'm Hidan," I replied. "I'm...uh..." What was I supposed to say? I wasn't Tayuya's friend, was I? "I'm Tayuya's..."

"You don't need to explain it," Kimimaro told me as he placed his sister in the back seat. "You go to Shinobi High, right? Then we'll just say you know her from school." He shut the door and walked back to the driver's side of the car. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her," he sighed. "I'm just sorry I couldn't get here before the hysterics started. It looks like she threw another temper tantrum. I'm sorry."

"Uh, no, it's okay," I insisted.

Kimimaro smiled. "I owe you. See you around, hopefully another time when I'm home from college." He quickly got into the driver's seat and sped off.

I suddenly realized that I had asked Kakuzu to call a cab, so I ran inside the bar to stop him. When I got in there, he didn't have his phone. "I saw that guy come," he told me. "Just get on your bike and go. Pay for the drinks later."

I wanted to kill that greedy bastard. He _still_ wanted me to pay after all THAT!

But I wasn't in the mood to argue. I left the bar and got on my bike. After placing the helmet on my head, I started the engine and headed for home, vowing to never drink vodka as long as I lived.

TO BE CONTINUED


	5. When I Anticipated Her

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**Author's Note: **Once again, you guys rock for taking the time to read this crack pairing fic. Damn, I love you all.

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 5: When I Anticipated Her**

The bar incident actually happened during summer vacation. Sorry, I had forgotten to mention that.

It was easy to forget though, because, for the most part, the Akatsuki was working on the assignments that Pein had given us. Kakuzu and I, however, were told not to go after "Two-Tails" until at least three of the others had been caught and beaten up. Why? I have no damn idea. I just know that I was happy to have something of a break, especially after what I had witnessed at the bar.

By the time the second semester of school started, I realized that that image of Tayuya would be stuck in my mind forever. Damn.

I received news to move forward with my assignment on the day before school started. I was eating a strawberry ice cream bar when my phone rang. Still lying on my bed, I reached out and grabbed it after the third ring. "Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, Hidan, it's Kisame," my friend greeted.

I nodded even though I knew Kisame couldn't tell. "What's up?" I continued. "Something going on?"

"Itachi and I tried going after 'Nine-Tails' like Pein told us to," he explained, "but we were stopped. The kid is not only stronger than we thought, but his grandfather was nearby when we struck. Now, seriously, this guy looks like an absolute fool, but he's tough."

"The kid or the old fart?"

"The old fart."

"Shit."

"Exactly." I heard Kisame sigh on the other end. "It was absolutely ridiculous. We had the kid RIGHT THERE in PERFECT conditions for being kidnapped or _at least_ beaten up. Then, out of nowhere, Sasuke comes along and starts yelling at Itachi, something about not being satisfied or complaining about some nighttime training session. I don't know."

I shivered. Kisame could be so fucking dense sometimes.

"But then 'Nine-Tails's" grandpa comes along and nearby beats the crap out of us while Sasuke's shouting about _him_ being the only one who can hurt Itachi under certain conditions or something like that. I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention, but I do remember Gai-sensei running in and kicking the grandpa in the face."

I sat up in bed. "What the hell?" I asked. "Gai-sensei? As in our physical education teacher?"

"Yes!" Kisame shouted. "And you know what else?"

"What?"

"The idiot didn't remember my name!! I've only been his student for about two-and-a-half years now, so you'd THINK he would get my name straight! At least my last name! But no, this idiot just kept saying. 'I think I know you from somewhere.' WHAT A MORON!!"

I groaned. "Kisame, what does any of that have to do with your assignment?"

There was a long silence. "Uh, nothing, I guess," my friend finally said. "I was just offended. Wouldn't you be?"

"Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass if the stupid-as-hell teacher doesn't remember who I am."

More silence.

"Okay," Kisame agreed, "I'll shut up. Before I do though, just know that Pein has decided to take matters concerning 'Nine-Tails' into his own hands. He and his siblings and cousins are going to take care of him. In other words, we managed to catch two others, and the art brothers are working on their target."

"Are you sure they're not just using this mission as an excuse to have some alone time?"

Kisame snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"I bet those two are trying to set a record," I laughed. "They're going to travel all over the world and see how many different high school bathrooms they can screw in." Kisame joined me in laughing.

"So much for this operation being sneaky!" I could tell that he was grinning wickedly on the other end. "Those two really can't shut up whenever they do it, can they?"

I shook my head. "No, they can't," I agreed. "Anyway, thanks for the update, Kisame. Who are you and Itachi going after next?"

"'Four-Tails'."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. Later."

I set the phone down and sighed. I knew I would have to go after my target with Kakuzu soon. It just bothered me that this mission had to be stretched out for so long. I wondered why we couldn't just all go after the different threats at the same time, but I slapped myself before I could think about that too much. I sounded like Sasori.

While I was thinking of him, I remembered something that Deidara had once told me. Now, even though I often make fun of the blond whore and tease him about his girly features, he's actually a good friend of mine. I just don't see him that much. Most of the time, he's with Sasori, and they're usually, uh, _busy_ with something, making contacting him at a decent time difficult. Plus, his apartment is pretty far away from mine. It's even further away than Tobi's, but I guess that that's what happens when you live in the big city. Sure, public transportation could probably get me anywhere I wanted to be in a decent amount of time, but there's just no way in hell I'd ever give up a trip on my bike. Nope.

Seriously though, while it really doesn't seem like it, Deidara actually tells me a lot of things. Whenever he needs to rant about something, he comes to me if he feels he can't go to Sasori. Most of the time, Sasori is the one he's complaining about when he talks to me. It's always, "Sasori no danna only made love to me twice last night, un!" or "Sasori no danna told me my sculpture was too pretty to be blown up, un!" or "Sasori no danna said my hair wasn't as shiny as it usually is, un!"

WHY I listen to that transvestite is _beyond_ me.

But at that moment, as I was sitting there on my bed, I was hating myself for not listening to him more. Maybe if I had actually listened to what he was saying, I would have gotten an idea about what love is. Regardless of how much he complained, Deidara _claimed_ to have loved Sasori more than he had even loved anyone else. I figured that when you're a whore, you don't really take the time to love anybody but whatever. It wasn't like I could say that from experience.

I finished the last of the ice cream and threw the stick across the room, where it landed in some random pile of crap. I sighed as I set my head back on the pillow. If Deidara, a total whore who sometimes called himself a terrorist-in-training, could love someone, could _anyone_ learn to love?

Then, I did the unthinkable.

I sat up, picked up the phone, dialed a number, and listened for the greeting. Surprisingly, I got a response after a single ring. "Hello, un?" I heard the blonde say.

"Hey, Deidara," I murmured, "are you busy right now?"

"No, I'm not," my friend replied. "Sasori no danna is working tonight. He won't be back until late since he's got an idea for a new model. What is it, un?"

"Could you come over to my place?" I asked.

"Hidan, you do know that I'm taken, right, un?"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M FUCKING ASKING FOR, YOU WHORE!!" I shouted. Jashin, why did EVERYONE assume I was gay? Is it the hair?! ...Okay, maybe it's the hair. After all, I didn't know that many straight guys who spent as much time on their hair as I did. Forgetting my girly habits, I took a breath and calmed down. "Sorry about that," I muttered. "Could you just come to my apartment though? Or could we just go somewhere? I want to talk to you about something."

"Can't you just ask me over the phone?" Deidara asked.

"No, I want to talk in person."

"Okay. Why don't we go to the park, un? It's getting late anyway. I doubt there will be a lot of kids around."

"That's fine with me."

"Alright, un, I'll be there soon."

As soon as I hung up, I threw my leather jacket on along with my ring, just in case, and walked out of my room, locking it up behind me. The park was actually a really good idea, since it was about half-way between where our apartments were. I sighed. It would probably be relaxing.

When I stepped out of the building, I realized that the weather had begun to change. The heat and humidity of the summer was slowly leaving us to be replaced with the cool, crisp air of autumn. I never liked summer, so I was happy to feel the cool breezes starting up. It felt nice. My bare chest was a little cold, but that was nothing a good zipper couldn't fix. It did so as I boarded my bike and put my helmet on. Quickly, I started the engine and felt it light up beneath me.

If I haven't said it once, I'll say it again: I fucking _love_ this bike.

I zipped through the city streets and found myself at the park in about twenty minutes. Deidara had been right about it not being crowded; almost all of the kids were gone, and there weren't even that many adults there. I was a bit shocked actually, considering how nice the weather was. Shrugging that thought off and thanking Jashin for the privacy, I parked my bike near the curb and walked up to an open grass area. I sat my ass down on the bench and waited.

While I did so, my mind wandered. There were only two semesters of school left, and then I would graduate, thank Jashin. I never wanted to go back to Shinobi High ever again. I just wanted to take those final exams, consider a place to go to college, and _leave_. I didn't want to put up with the crappy literature from Kakashi-sensei, the endless laps around the school from Gai-sensei, the ridiculous history lessons from Iruka-sensei, the stupid home economics demonstrations from Kurenai-sensei or the shitty, pointless geometry from Asuma-sensei.

Speaking of that asshole, I couldn't help but wonder if the second semester of geometry would be as much like torture as the first one was. Somehow, Jashin knows how, I managed to pull a passing grade for the semester out of my ass. I guess that actually _attempting_ to do the homework helped. I figured it couldn't hurt.

I wouldn't mind heading back for biology with Yamato-sensei. He was reasonable enough. When he wasn't gushing on about how we all have to go green and save the trees, he let us dissect things. Hey, it was a small price to pay for extra sacrifices to Jashin. I wondered if he would let us cut up more innocent animals.

And then, out of nowhere, my mind drifted off to Tayuya.

Was she okay? Had Kimimaro taken care of her? He seemed to be a nice enough guy. I mean, he actually took the time to go get his bitchy little sister and bring her home safely. I couldn't think of many guys who would do that for such a bitch, except for maybe Pein if Konan was ever hurt. I just thought that it was so ironic how such a nice guy could be related to such a bratty girl.

I came to one conclusion: That house was screwed up beyond belief.

"Hidan," I heard Deidara call. I looked up and saw the blonde walking towards me with a pleasant smile on his face. "I didn't keep you waiting too long, did I, un?"

"Don't confuse me with Sasori," I snorted. "I'm a pretty patient guy."

Deidara's smile widened. "I know, un. I'm just so used to asking." He sat down next to me. "So what did you want to talk about, un?"

I couldn't believe I was about to ask what I did.

"When did you know that you were in love with Sasori?"

The blonde immediately flushed bright red and turned away from me. I waited for him to turn back to me, and when he did, his eyes were wide, and his palms were resting against his blushing cheeks. He looked embarrassed. Hell, the whore looked like a friggin' _virgin_.

"Well, I guess I always liked him a bit," he began, still holding onto his pink face. "I always thought that he was handsome, so I guess I developed a crush on him in middle school." He paused. "I wouldn't say it was love though until I discovered that he had joined the Akatsuki. I went and joined just so I could be close to him."

"Did you even _want_ to be part of the Akatsuki?" I asked.

Deidara shook his head. "No, I didn't, un. I just wanted to be close to Sasori no danna." He suddenly smiled sheepishly. "Don't get me wrong though, un. I like being part of the Akatsuki! If I hadn't joined, I wouldn't have met all my great friends, un! And Sasori no danna probably wouldn't love me the way he does now."

One of my eyebrows rose. "So you think that Sasori wouldn't have noticed you if you weren't part of the Akatsuki?"

"Well, maybe," the blonde murmured. "One night, he came over to my apartment and whispered, 'I want you.' I was shocked, un! I didn't know that he liked me that much! I mean, he was nice to me, so I figured that he liked me well enough, but I never thought that he would come over and practically confess to me in the middle of the night, un! It was actually...kind of romantic."

I frowned. "So you love this guy because he came over one random night and screwed you?"

"It was my first time, un!" Deidara cried. "He was so gentle with me. He took such good care of me. And then when we woke up in the morning, he told me that he thought I was beautiful, un. He said that he liked everything about me. He was such a gentleman, un. He vowed to take care of me and make me happy no matter what." He paused and blushed. "Ever since then, he's always taken care of me. He loves me enough to make up for the lack of love in my family, un."

That line stuck in my head. I knew that everyone in the Akatsuki didn't have a great childhood or family, so it was to be expected that they would seek out some love among the others close around them. I could understand Deidara and Sasori, really. Sasori's parents had been killed when he was a child, so he had been left alone to be raised by his old grandmother. When she passed on, he was all alone, so I guessed that he somewhat needed love from Deidara just as much as Deidara needed love from him. It was starting to make sense.

Of course, in my opinion, that didn't give Itachi and Sasuke the right to do the things they did, but I wasn't in the mood to bring up their sick relationship.

I sighed and looked towards the grass. "Thanks for answering my question," I whispered. "I owe you."

Deidara looked up at me and tilted his head. "Why did you ask?" he murmured. "Are you in love with someone, Hidan?"

I shrugged. "I don't know if it's love or hate."

Deidara was silent for a moment. "Is it that pink-haired girl?" he suddenly asked.

My head shot up. "How the hell did you know?" I gasped.

The blonde shook his head. "I heard Kakuzu talking with you about some girl after the meeting at Tobi's apartment a few months ago, un," he explained. "I heard the name 'Tayuya' and decided to check some of those online profile websites for any information. She didn't have a profile, but some of her brothers do. The twins share a profile, and they actually spend a lot of time writing about their family. It sounds like a pretty messed up one, un."

I rolled my eyes. "You have no damn idea."

Deidara sighed. "She's a pretty girl," he continued, "but her father is that yakuza boss Orochimaru. I know that Kakuzu told you to stay away from her, but if you love her, you should try to be close to her."

"I told you that I don't know if it's love or hate."

"Figure it out then, un!"

"It's not that easy! She's not coming to my apartment wanting to get screwed, damn it!"

Deidara blinked twice. "Then work on figuring it out, un!" he insisted. "If you don't, you might lose her!"

"Can we change the subject?" I growled. "I don't need you or anyone else trying to preach romantic advice to me." I frowned bitterly and came up with a random conversation topic. "Are you planning on going to college with Sasori?"

Deidara's eyes went wide. "I...I don't know," he whispered. "Sasori no danna wants to go to this big, fancy art school. He wants to learn more about building things and get discovered by a major company. He wants to go all-out on finding his career at an early age, un." The blonde was quiet for a moment before adding, "I don't know if I can go to the same college. It's the kind of place where you have to have your work be unanimously approved by everyone on the board." Another silence. "My work is usually gone before it can be approved, un."

I shrugged. "I don't know shit about art. All I can do is pray you figure yourself out."

Deidara grinned. "Thank you, un." Suddenly, his cell went off. He grabbed it out of his pocket and answered it quickly. "Hello?" He immediately gasped. "Sasori no danna! You're getting off work early, un? Yay! Um, I'm out right now, but I'll be at your apartment soon. Okay, good. I love you, Sasori-sama, un!" He hung up his phone and smiled like a schoolgirl. "Sasori no danna is getting off work early! I have to go see him, un!" He gathered himself together and ran for the park exit. "I'll talk to you later, Hidan! Good luck with your girl, un!"

I wasn't in the mood to shout back as I watched the giddy blonde run down the street towards his boyfriend's apartment. I just shook my head and leaned back against the bench.

School was going to start first thing in the morning. I'd have to go back to dealing with my shitty teachers and studying to try to graduate.

I didn't care though. I knew I'd see a certain person there.

I knew that Tayuya would be there, and I couldn't fucking wait.

TO BE CONTINUED


	6. When I Heard Her

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**Author's Note: **For anyone interested, I drew the _Religion and Music_ cover. It's at my DeviantART, and the link to my gallery is in my profile.

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 6: When I Heard Her**

For once in my life as a third year high school student, I got up on time. That morning, I rushed right to my bathroom to brush my teeth, wash my face, and straighten up my hair without even thinking. I threw my uniform on without so much as a muttered curse and left my room quickly, locking the door behind me. Once I got down to the apartment building's parking lot, I threw my bag over my shoulder, put my helmet on, started the engine, and sped down the street.

Don't go thinking I wanted to be early though. I simply did all this right away so I could get something to eat before I walked through the school doors. I stopped at a convenience store and bought two rice balls along with a can of chilled coffee. Ah, the breakfast of a poor student...there's nothing like it.

I quickly chomped on the rice balls and guzzled down the coffee before putting my helmet on and getting on my way to school. When I saw the clock tower at the center of the building, I knew I was close. I could see some other students walking around the front courtyard and slowed my speed when I was near.

When I made it to the school parking lot, I noticed a sleek, black car pulling in and immediately recognized it as Itachi's. Damn, I have no idea where that guy got all his money. Well, actually, maybe I _don't_ want to know. All I'm sure of was that his parents died a long time ago, leaving him and Sasuke with not much. Rumor had it that they had gone to live with their uncle, some guy named Madara, right after the deaths, but it had to have been for a short time because they hardly left school. Plus, Madara was the type of guy who didn't stay around one place for too long. It's not like he was some gypsy or vagabond or something, but I had heard that the guy was constantly on the move. I even heard rumors that he always left a town before anyone could get to know him to protect his identity.

For now though, let's say that Itachi got all his money from the inheritance his parents had left. The Uchihas were famous for being a pretty ritzy family, so I wouldn't be surprised if the parents had left their son one hell of a fortune.

I was about to park my bike and greet the Uchihas when I saw the front of the car pulling into a space...and not stopping. "Itachi!!" I shouted. "You idiot! Stop! You're going to hit the other cars!" It was too late though. Itachi's car slammed right into a silver car.

Honestly, that was the first time I had ever seen someone hit a _parked car_.

I waited and watched Sasuke jump out of the car in a rage. "STUPID!!" he cried. "You dumbass! You hit the car in front of you! Damn it, Itachi, it was a PARKED CAR for crying out loud!!" He slammed the passenger door and walked around to the driver's side, where Itachi was getting out. "First you nearly get us killed in the wrong lane, then you almost hit some old lady on the freakin' SIDEWALK, and now THIS!!" He growled as he yanked his older brother from the car. "What THE HELL is wrong with you lately?!"

Itachi just shook his head. "I don't know," he murmured. Quietly, he lowered his head and walked towards the front doors of the school. "I'll go tell Tsunade and pay for the damages."

I could see the hate in Sasuke's eyes as he kicked the side of the car. "Idiot!" he choked out. "Idiot!"

I swallowed. "Sasuke--"

"Shut THE FUCK up, Hidan," the little Uchiha hissed, turning towards me, his eyes flashing red. I took a step back and narrowed my eyes.

"Watch your mouth, you little shit.

"Right back at you."

"Sasuke-kun!!"

Oh, great. The Sasuke Fan Club. I got out of there before those girls could even take a step onto the lot's pavement.

Once I was inside the school, I saw some of the other Akatsuki members there. Zetsu was standing in one of the hallway's corners, mumbling to himself while Tobi was trying to talk to him. The boy in the orange mask looked up and saw me, and I could tell I was his next target.

"Good morning, Hidan-san!" he greeted, waving enthusiastically. "I haven't seen you in a long time! How was your summer? Did you do anything fun? Are you ready to tackle the next part of senior year?" I could tell he was grinning under that mask, the little idiot. How could _this_ guy be beating me in academics?!

"I'm fine, Tobi," I managed to reply. "I had an...interesting summer." I nodded and continued down the hallway so I wouldn't have to listen to his blabber anymore. Besides, he could keep himself occupied just by trying to get Zetsu to talk to him. Now, Tobi _was_ the only person Zetsu talked to, but the happening itself was rare. Still, Tobi was like some over-energetic child. If he was occupied with some seemingly-impossible task, he'd leave me alone, which was the important part.

I groaned when I saw Konan and Pein walking down the hallway with their hands folded together. They were probably on their way to history, their first subject on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I remembered that I was still scheduled to go to English that Monday morning. Damn. I didn't want to hear about some shitty novel from that gray-haired pervert.

And the morning only got worse when I walked into the bathroom.

"SASORI-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

Fuck.

Literally.

Why THE FUCKING HELL had I been so damn excited to come to school today? I had even woken up on time! I hadn't spent a crazy amount of time on my hair! I hadn't even complained about anything before I had had my coffee! I mentally confirmed at that moment, standing in the bathroom's doorway, that happiness kills.

"Wow," I muttered as I walked towards one of the sinks. "Just...wow."

The art brothers looked up. "Well," Sasori panted, "at least you didn't see what we were doing ten minutes ago." He ran his fingers through the blond hair falling in front of Deidara's pink, sweaty face. "I'm sure you would have found that WAY more traumatizing."

"No more toys for a while, okay, Sasori-sama, un?" the blonde gasped. "I want to be able to sit through class without doubling over in pain, okay?" He released his legs from around Sasori's waist and zipped his uniform pants up. "We'll do the toys over the weekend, un."

"I hate waiting for the weekend," Sasori groaned, zipping his pants up and wetting a washcloth from his pocket. He quickly went to work cleaning up the white stains on the floor and wall.

I shook my head. I was friends with such freaks.

I quickly rinsed my hands, dried them off, and walked out of the bathroom. Jashin, where was all the SANITY in this school?! Even the founder was a total psycho! Then there were all my freakish friends and the shitty teachers. All the insanity...

And that was when it hit me. Where was Tayuya?

"Attenion, all students, staff, and faculty!" I heard Tsunade announce over the loudspeaker. "Everyone must come to the auditorium for a special assembly. This assembly will last all throughout first period and end half-way through second. That is all."

The voice ended and I shrugged. Hey, it was enough to get me out of that book whore's class for a day.

I walked down the hallway to the auditorium and found a seat in the middle of the room. I sat my ass down and watched as the other students and teachers found their own seats. The room filled quickly, and the lights soon dimmed. A single light shined down on the center of the stage, where Tsunade walked out from behind the curtains.

"Thank you all for coming," she said. "I hope you enjoy the performance we've set up for you today. In an agreement between the school and a local business organization, Shinobi High is proud to present one of its own students in a fantastic musical performance. Everyone, please welcome first-year student, Miss Tayuya Sound, to the stage. Enjoy the show!"

The audience clapped as Tsuande walked off the stage. I just sat there, shocked. Tayuya was willingly putting on a show for the school? No, no way, there was no way in hell she'd ever do that. Tsunade had mentioned a business an agreement...There must have been a lot of money or _something_ involved behind the scenes with Orochimaru and the yakuza. Why he'd go to such great lengths, I didn't know, but I couldn't be bothered with that. I was about to hear Tayuya play her flute!

When she walked out on the stage. Tayuya looked as she normally did. Her bright pink hair wasn't done up in some fancy style, she didn't have any stage make-up on, and she was wearing her school uniform. She didn't look like she was about to play for an audience. She had the same old "I'm-going-to-kill-you-all" expression on her bitter face, and the way she brought the flute up to her mouth was quick and harsh.

The auditorium was silent for a good ten seconds. All eyes were on her.

And then...I heard a note.

Before I knew it, the entire room was full of beautiful notes, one after another. I couldn't believe my ears. This music was amazing! Like I mentioned earlier, I don't know shit about music, but it didn't take a musical genius to realize that what was being played was gorgeous. It was as if a million little bells were playing together in perfect harmony. It was just...beautiful.

I looked around the auditorium to see that everyone was enjoying the music. I could see my friends watching Tayuya with steady, fascinated eyes. The first-years, I could see, were blown away. Their eyes were the size of ramen bowls and barely blinked. Even the teachers were stunned. I could see them keeping their eyes on the girl as she kept playing. I wished she wouldn't stop.

Eventually, I settled down in watching everyone else and turned my attention back to Tayuya. I couldn't think of a better way for her to present herself, the more I thought about it. It was so raw, so _real_ that this was the _only_ way she could show off her talent.

I leaned back in my chair and gently closed my eyes. I didn't need to watch her. I knew that she would just have the same angry expression on her face and wouldn't stop to notice me. Hell, she wouldn't stop for anyone, and that was exactly what I wanted. She just kept playing that flute, never stopping to care if anyone was even paying attention.

The assembly ended all too soon. When Tayuya finally stopped playing, I looked at my watch and saw that first period and half of second period really had gone by. Wow. It honestly felt as though we had all just gathered together in the room a few moments ago. I was upset to get up and leave, but I was happy because I could finally clap for Tayuya, as I did. Everyone soon began clapping like crazy, not giving a damn if the group looked like a bunch of idiots. Everyone was cheering for her, and she didn't even bow when she was done. She simply turned and walked back behind the curtain, leaving the audience without any words of thanks or appreciation.

I figured that that was just the typical Tayuya.

I made it through the rest of the school day in a quiet daze. For the most part, my mind was still focused on the amazing performance I had witnessed earlier in the day. My last period on Monday was home economics, which passed with little trouble. Kurenai-sensei rambled on about some pastry. It wasn't strawberry ice cream, so I didn't care.

When the last bell of the day rang, I hauled my bag over my shoulder and made my way out of the school, slowly dragging my feet as I walked. I heard some teachers and students discussing the performance but didn't bother to listen in on any conversations. Besides, they didn't even _know_ Tayuya. Who gave them the damn right to talk about her anyway?

I stopped. Did _I_ know her?

...Or did I just want her...all to myself?

A flash of pink snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw a pink spot running through the crowds of people and enter the music room. I blinked. It was Tayuya! I ran down the hallways and opened the door to the classroom. Sure enough, she was there.

"Tayuya..." I breathed quietly. She looked up and gave me a hard expression.

"What do you want, jackass?" she asked. "I'm busy. I want to get out of here now, damn it."

Only one sentence came to my mind. "You weren't kidding when you said the stuff on those papers was trash." I grinned. "You were amazing up on that stage. You play your flute so fucking well. I can't get over it! The music has been stuck in my head all day!"

I was expecting, you know, a TINY bit of appreciation, but the bitch just narrowed her eyes and frowned. "You really don't know shit about music, do you?" she snapped. "What I played on that stage was pure garbage. My father bribed the school into making me play today. Tsunade loves money, that cash whore, so she blackmailed me into playing for the entire school."

I stared at Tayuya. Fuck, I _knew _that the performance had had SOMETHING to do with Orochimaru, that bastard! Just what was UP with this father who did such sneaky, unfair things to his only daughter?! What was his PROBLEM?!

"That...sucks," I managed to squeak out. "Your father...he sucks."

"NO FUCKING SHIT!!" Tayuya screamed, throwing her flute into its case and throwing the case against the wall. She glared at me. "So you finally get it, huh?! You understand what a jerk he is? What a dick he is?! I hate him! I FUCKING HATE HIM!!"

"Hey, calm down!" I ordered, walking over to the angry girl. "Calm down, damn it!" I placed my hands on her shoulders. "What would make you feel better, huh? Tell me, bitch. Tell me what I can do to make you feel better!"

...Wait..._what_ had I just said?

Tayuya's eyes were wide for a moment, but her face quickly softened, and a smirk appeared on her lips. "Take me back to your place and let me play for you the way I _really_ play. I'm sure that even a dumbass like you can learn to appreciate what _real_ music is if you hear it." She shrugged my hands away. "And then you can take me home."

Oh...my..._JASHIN._

My mind flashed back to the night with Deidara. HOLY CRAP. Tayuya was coming over to _my apartment _to give me a _personal show_ with her flute!

HOLY SHIT.

Literally.

My apartment was full of crap.

Regardless, I nodded and led Tayuya out of the school towards the parking lot. Once there, I saw Tsunade talking with Itachi about the car incident from this morning. Sasuke was there along with his three friends, only one of which I recognized as a first-year named Suigetsu, a guy who was once friends with a two guys named Zabuza and Haku, who were ex-best friends with Kisame. Rumor had it that those two got tangled in the wrong street fight and died. The other two were strangers to me, but I think I had seen the redhead chick in Sasuke's little fan club. Ew.

I glanced back at Itachi and looked at the damage. Damn, he was in for it.

Once we were at my bike, I put my helmet on and sat on the front of the seat. I pat the small portion I had left. "Sit here," I said. Tayuya glanced at the seat and cocked an eyebrow.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Hey, my bike wasn't meant for two people. Just get on."

Tayuya sighed boarded the bike. As I turned the engine on, she wrapped her arms around my middle and leaned against my back for support. Oh, Jashin, she might have lacked boobs, but she was so soft and light. Her fingers were small, and her arms were rather skinny for such a tough girl. Her cheek rested against the junction where my neck met my back, and I could feel her breath through the material of my uniform shirt. For once in my life, I was so happy that I hadn't worn my leather jacket.

The ride was all too short, as we soon made it to my apartment building. I parked my bike in the lot and led Tayuya inside the building. We climbed a few sets of stairs until I stopped at my door and unlocked it. "I'm just warning you," I muttered, "this place is filthy."

Tayuya gasped when I opened the door. "No shit," I heard her murmur. We made our way through the epic piles of crap and sat down on my bed. I didn't even bother taking my shoes off, and I'm sure Tayuya didn't want to for risk of touching the trash on the floor. She sat on my bed rather uncomfortably and took her flute out of its case. She quickly put it together and stood.

"Good afternoon," she greeted. My eyes were wide. She had said something so..._polite_! It was something so simple that a _NORMAL HUMAN BEING_ would say! "I'm Tayuya Sound and I'll be performing for you today. The song does not have a title. I hope you enjoy it."

My brain was absolutely dead.

But then I heard a note come from the flute.

And before I knew it, time had stopped. The only thing that mattered in the world was the music coming from the flute. Wow. Tayuya was right. What she had played on the stage at school today _was_ pure garbage compared to THIS!

She suddenly stopped and pulled the flute away from her mouth. My heart sank.

"Thank you," she said, bowing. "I hope you enjoyed the performance."

I started clapping like a damn idiot. Tayuya lifted her head and smirked. I could tell that she was impressed with herself, but I didn't care. Oh, Jashin, thank you, THANK YOU, for letting me hear that music. I WAS NOT WORTHY!!

"You can stop now," Tayuya snickered. I quickly stopped clapping.

"That was..." I gasped, "...amazing."

"Heh, I know."

I just stared at her. "Would you like me to take you home?" _GAH!! IDIOT!! FUCKING IDIOT!! DON'T ASK HER TO GO!!_

Tayuya shook her head. "I feel like walking," she sighed. "Do you have anything to eat though? I'm hungry."

I bolted up. "Sure! I can't say I have the best stuff, but I do have some food." I opened the mini fridge and freezer at the end of my room. "Do you like ice cream?"

"Yeah."

"Great! I have some strawberry ice cream bars in here."

"Those are my favorite."

I thought I heard angels sing...if I believed in angels, that is. We had something in common!

I pulled out the bar (which happened to be the last one) and handed it to her. "Here."

"Thanks." She took it and smirked. "By the way," she told me as she headed for the door, "you're the _only_ person I've ever played like that for. That's how I play, how I _really_ play, and you're the only person who's ever heard it." She opened the door. "Can I come by over the weekend and play for you again? It was fun."

I slowly nodded. "You're always...welcome here."

Tayuya tore off the wrapper and bit into the ice cream. She grinned as she let it melt in her mouth and swallowed. "Thanks. See you later, fucker." With another bite, she closed the door.

I ran to my window and looked down at the streets. I watched as she left the apartment building and walked down the sidewalk for home. I looked up towards the ceiling and fell to my knees. I lifted my hands up.

_"OH, JASHIN, THANK YOU SO FUCKING MUCH!! I AM NOT WORTHY OF YOUR KINDNESS!!"_

My mind flashed back to Deidara again. I smiled so damn wide like a total moron. I knew what it was now.

I was in love.

I WAS SO MUCH IN FUCKING LOVE.

TO BE CONTINUED


	7. When I Considered Her

****

Title: Religion and Music

Chapter 7: When I Considered Her

And so for months after that day, Tayuya came to see me once a week to play her flute. She came every Sunday, the one day we didn't have school, and played her flute for exactly five minutes, non-stop. I would sit on my bed and watch her as she stood among the piles of garbage, her eyes closed and her face peaceful. Her tiny fingers would play that instrument so delicately and beautifully; it was hard to believe that this was the same girl with a bad attitude, a foul mouth, and no friends.

There were times when she didn't just play her flute though. One cool day in late September, only a few weeks after she had come for the first time, she didn't immediately get up and leave. Once she was done with her song, she looked around my room, her face twisting unpleasantly.

"This place is full of shit," she told me. "How often do you clean it?"

I shook my head. "Never."

She snorted and put her flute away. "Typical lazyass man," she muttered. "I live in a house with seven other bastards just like you." Once her flute was away, she rolled up her sleeves and sighed. "Might as well get to work."

I cocked my head. "What are you talking about?"

Tayuya got down on her knees and threw a random ice cream wrapper into the garbage can. "What does it look like, stupid?" she asked. "We're going to clean your apartment. If we don't, you could be taken over by cockroaches or something." She threw another wrapper into the can. "And I'm pretty sure that if I'm exposed to the hellish toxic waste in here any longer, I'm going to die."

I was silent for a few seconds. "There's no toxic waste in my room."

Tayuya lifted her head and blew some of her bright pink hair out of her face. She grinned wickedly. "How would you know, fucker?" she asked smugly. "You just said that you never clean the place. Hell, for all you know, you could be breeding some mutant underneath all this trash." She snickered. "Haven't you seen all those bad American sci-fi films? This is exactly how all of them start!"

I shook my head and bent down to the floor. "As I'm sure you have noticed, I don't have a TV in here, bitch," I hissed. "I don't get the chance to watch that many things."

Tayuya smirked. "Really? Well, we'll just see about that." She crawled around on the floor, throwing random things into the garbage can. "We won't clean the entire place up today," she told me. "We'll save some of it for later. Besides, this will give me a reason to come back."

All the heat in my body rushed up to my cheeks.

So that was how our cleaning routine got started. For the next few weeks, every Sunday, Tayuya played her flute and then helped me clean my apartment. It was a nice routine. We would exchange stupid stories of crazy stuff that had happened to us in our lives, and sometimes we would get into trash fights. Tayuya would laugh like a madwoman when I threw the trash in her face, but then she would always find a way to get back at me. One time, we actually had something of a wrestling match among the trash. Jashin, that was fun as hell.

And then another time, I was in for the shock of my life.

I cleaned some crud off a ridiculously high pile of trash and noticed something strange. There was something hard and smooth underneath. Venturing further, I started to realize that something was buried underneath the garbage.

When I saw what it was, my eyes grew wide.

"HOLY SHIT!!" I screamed. "I HAVE A FUCKING TELEVISION IN HERE!!"

Early that evening, after all the trash around the TV had been cleared, Tayuya and I sat together on my bed across from it. I flipped through the channels in astonishment. Since when did I _have_ a TV?

"Whoa, stop!" Tayuya suddenly shouted. "Go back, idiot!"

I quickly flipped back a few channels. "What?" I asked, almost frantic. "What did you see?"

"Stop!" she shouted again. I froze and looked at the TV screen. Holy crap, I was confused.

"This is one of those lame Disney movies," I told her. "Why did you want me to stop here?"

Tayuya gave me one of those "You-are-the-stupidest-person-in-the-world" looks. "Dumbass!" she cried. "Don't you know which one this is?! This is _101 Dalmatians_, as in the movie with all the cute puppies. You must have seen this _at least_ once when you were a kid, right?!"

I shook my head. Sure, I had watched some Disney films when I was little, but I hardly remembered any of them. There was only one that I could remember clearly...

Tayuya's jaw dropped. "This is the one with Cruella de Vil!" she screamed, slapping me across the cheek. "She's the one who wants to kill all those cute puppies so she can make a fur coat out of them! Idiot, she's awesome! She's the only chick around, besides myself, who takes pleasure in hurting those things!" She suddenly laughed aloud. "She's my hero, damn it!"

My heart stopped.

She liked killing puppies.

Oh...my...FUCKING...JASHIN.

I liked killing kittens.

I would have screamed my thanks to Jashin right then and there, but I didn't want to sound like an idiot. Oh, Jashin, this girl was something else. I laughed along with her, and when we settled down, we watched the movie until the credits came up on screen.

The week after watching the movie together, Tayuya stayed longer than usual, long enough to stick around for dinner. When I offered it to her, she agreed and sat down on my bed. "You going to cook?" she asked me disgustedly. "What sort of crap are you going to 'treat' me to?"

I frowned bitterly. "I'm no chef, damn it," I growled. "I have rice, pre-cooked chicken, and enough soy sauce to fill a river."

Tayuya's eyes narrowed harshly. "You're serious?" she stated. "You're going to feed me that shit? You don't have anything else to offer a lady?" She practically pounced on me when I shook my head. "You really are hopeless, aren't you? You're pathetic." She groaned and took a pen from her pocket. "Got any paper?" I nodded and handed it to her; I watched as she started writing something.

"What's this all about?"

"Here." She shoved the paper in my face. "Go buy this stuff at the food store down the street. In the meantime, I'll start cooking the rice."

"And who exactly is going to pay for all this crap? I'm poor, in case you haven't noticed."

Tayuya pulled her wallet from her pocket. "Take this if you're really that low on cash."

I almost felt bad about taking a girl's money, but I wasn't in the mood to argue, not if I was going to get some decent food out of this deal. I nodded as I put the wallet in my back pocket and threw my leather jacket on over my white t-shirt. I hated the cold; it meant I had to wear shirts every time I walked out of the house.

...Yes, that was a nice fantasy you had just now, wasn't it? Get your mind out of the gutter, pervert.

I came back to the room within fifteen minutes, and Tayuya took the food from me without a word. Immediately, she went back into the kitchen and threw everything into several different pots and pans on the sad excuse for a stove. "Give me another fifteen minutes," she ordered. "In the meantime, sit your ass down on the bed and watch."

Silently, I did as I was instructed and waited. After about ten minutes, my apartment was full of delicious smells, smells I never even knew existed. Holy crap, did they sell air fresheners in these smells?! The man who invented them would be a damn genius and a friggin' millionaire!!

Another five minutes later, Tayuya practically threw a plate and set of chopsticks in my lap. She sat on my bed next to me and started shoveling food into her mouth with absolutely NO manners whatsoever. Not like I cared though. I looked down at my plate and put some of the meat in my mouth.

Holy..._SHIT_.

"This is fucking delicious!" I cried, turning towards the pink-haired girl. "How did you learn to cook like this?!"

Tayuya sighed in between bites. "I had to learn how to cook," she explained. "My brothers told me that Mom would always cook for them until she died. When she passed away, Dad was too busy with the yakuza to take care of us. Kabuto, who was eleven at the time, started cooking the meals and would look after me. When I got old enough, he taught me how to cook. When he left for college, the cooking duties were up to me." She paused and snorted. "My other brothers immediately noticed that I, the only girl in the family, was taking on all the responsibilities a normal housewife would, so they dumped the rest of them on me." She tore off a piece of meat from her chopsticks. "Those fucking jackasses..."

I was silent for a moment. "Even Kimimaro?"

Tayuya whipped her head towards me. "The hell?" she questioned. "Oh, I guess you've met him after the bar incident, huh?" Her face softened when I nodded. "Well, he wasn't so bad. He helped me when he had free time, before he left for college. The ones I really hate are Sakon, Ukon, Kiddoumaru, and Jiroubo. They all suck."

Something inside told me that Tayuya was telling me more than she had ever told anyone else before. As she was explaining all this to me, she looked...vulnerable again. It wasn't as if she was going to cry or anything, but she did look as though she kind of wanted a hug. I slowly scooted towards her on the bed and rested my shoulder against hers. She looked up at me and was about to say something but held it in at the last second. Instead, she just closed her mouth and rested her head against my shoulder. I could almost feel all the sadness and pain inside her, but I didn't say anything. Words would have ruined the moment.

By the time December came along, the city was damn near cold as hell, and I froze every time I walked out of my apartment. Regardless, I hauled my ass out of bed every single morning and got ready for school, because I knew that school was the only place I could see Tayuya on the weekdays.

I pulled into the school parking lot on Saturday morning and groaned. First period was geometry. Damn it.

Silently, I made my way through the school and dragged myself to my seat in Asuma-sensei's class. When the first bell rang, my shitty teacher took attendance and stood at the blackboard. I braced myself for another boring lecture.

"Good morning," he began. "Today, we will be studying something slightly different from our usual geometry formulas. Today, I'm going to teach you about finding the area of shapes within shapes."

I froze. _What?_

"Let's start with something easy."

I kept my eyes on the board without moving. I tried understanding it. I REALLY did, believe it or not. I was barely pulling a passing grade out of my ass, so I _needed_ to do relatively well on these next few tests to pass for the semester. There were only two weeks left, and then winter break would come! Oh, Jashin, why did the tough stuff have to be introduced NOW of ALL TIMES?!

Needless to say, I got _nothing_ out of the lesson.

When the bell rang, Asuma-sensei stopped me before I could leave. "Hidan," he began, "you have to do well on this next test." He pulled out his grade book. "While it's true that your grades have improved _slightly_ since the beginning of the year, you _need_ to try harder. If you don't do well on this next test, you WILL fail for the semester." He closed his grade book. "I can tutor you if you want, or I can set you up with another student."

I narrowed my eyes. "Like hell," I hissed. "I'll figure it out on my own."

Asuma-sensei shook his head. "Good luck," he muttered. "You'll need it." He stood from his desk and pulled a cigarette from a nearby box. "Excuse me. I need this after dealing with you." He made his way for the door.

Once he was gone, I twisted my face and raised my middle finger towards the classroom exit. "If those sticks don't kill you," I growled, "I will."

"I heard that!"

I almost had a heart attack. DAMN HIM!!

The rest of the day passed by way too slowly. I was _so fucking angry_. By the time music class was over, I was practically seething, and I swear that my face was bright pink with rage. Why THE HELL did I need to know this geometry stuff anyway? I didn't want to study math in college! I figured that if I made it into college, I'd study religion. I shook my head as I walked into the bathroom. What a day...

"Saso...Sasori no...danaaaaaa..."

"JASHIN, IS THERE EVER A TIME WHEN YOU TWO SEX-STARVED ANIMALS _AREN'T_ FUCKING?!

The art brothers looked up. "You're cranky today," Sasori murmured, rubbing his lover's back. Deidara moaned and leaned up against the redhead. Said redhead just sighed. "We weren't, for your information," he continued. "We were making out."

"OH, THAT MAKES _ALL_ THE DIFFERENCE!!"

Deidara frowned pathetically and narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with you, un?" he asked. "You're in a pissier mood than usual." He let go of Sasori and walked towards me. "Is it about that girl?"

I shook my head and turned the faucet in the nearby sink on. I splashed my face twice and then washed my hands. "It's that damn Asuma-sensei," I snarled. "He taught us something today that makes no damn sense, and I have to do well or else I'm going to fail his class." I took a small washcloth from my pocket and dried my face and hands. "I will _not_ let myself fail while that idiot Tobi does well, but I just don't get this stupid stuff. Why do I need to know it anyway?" I took the comb from my back pocket, squirted the hair gel bottle I kept in my backpack on it, and worked the substance through my hair.

Sasori sighed. "Do you want us to help?"

I bit my lip. "No," I replied quietly. "I want to try to figure it out for myself."

"Suit yourself."

"By the way, Hidan," Deidara interrupted. "Sasori no danna and I got our Jinchuuriki, un. You and Kakuzu have to go after yours as soon as I possible."

I nodded. "I'll remember that."

"And there's something else, un," he added. "Itachi has to take some time off from Akatsuki."

My head shot up. "What the hell?"

"They're Pein's orders. When he heard about the car accident a few months ago, he kept an eye on the Uchihas, un. He soon realized that Itachi was messing up the simplest of tasks, so he ordered him not to take on anymore assignments. I think that Kisame is going to take on 'Four-Tails' by himself." I paused. "I hope he's okay, un."

"Kisame is strong," I reassured the blonde. "I'm sure he can take care of himself, but I'm worried about Itachi." I finished with my hair and put the comb away. "I hope that nothing's wrong with that poor bastard."

The art brothers nodded simultaneously. "I'm sure he's fine," Sasori said. Uncharacteristically, he gave me a warm grin. "He's strong, too. I'm sure whatever is wrong is nothing serious."

I couldn't help but grin back. "Yeah, you're right." I turned, walked out of the bathroom, and brought myself out of the school. Wow, it had been quite a day.

Right when I was about to get on my bike and head for home though, I saw a familiar face from across the parking lot. He was leaning against his silver car and had a gentle smile on his face. He motioned for me to come over to him.

"Kimimaro?" I questioned as soon as I got up to him. "Jashin, it's been a while."

"Yeah, it has," the white-haired man sighed pleasantly. "How have you been?"

"Um...I'm okay." I paused. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for Tayuya. I'm going to bring her home."

"Oh."

"So tell me, has she been with you every Sunday for the past few months?"

My eyes widened. "What?" I gasped. "How did you know? Haven't you been away at grad school?"

Kimimaro shook his head. "I've been home," he almost whispered. "I'm sure that Tayuya told you about my health. Well, for the past few months, I've been a little sicker than usual. My professors told me to take the semester off to recover." He grinned. "I'm okay now though. I'm going to do some make-up work over the winter break and then head back to school to finish up the year."

I felt a strange tugging at my heart. Maybe Tayuya wanted to come see me every Sunday so she wouldn't have to see her sick brother. Based on what she had told me, it seemed as though Kimimaro was the only one who really cared about her that much.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I murmured.

The man smiled. "Aw, don't worry about it. I'm okay now." He looked towards the entrance of the school but didn't see Tayuya, so he looked back at me. "Can I just tell you something about my sister? She's never laughed or cried in her entire life."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"She's smiled but it's always been an evil smile," the brother explained. "She's never smiled or laughed from the bottom of her heart because she was truly happy. At the same time, she has _never_ cried. Even when she was a baby, she wouldn't cry. Sure, she would scream whenever she needed something, but I have _never_ seen any tears come out of her eyes." His face saddened. "Has she ever laughed or cried with you?" I remembered our trash fights but didn't bring them up out of shock. I didn't mention our movie night either. He sighed when I shook my head. "Oh well. I guess she won' t ever then. Anyway, I'm going to go look for her at the back entrance of the school, because it seems like she's not going to be coming out of this entrance any time soon."

I nodded. "Alright. I'll see you around some time then."

Kimimaro grinned. "I look forward to it." With that, he got into the driver's seat, started the car's engine, and sped off to the other side of the school. I watched in awe.

Suddenly, my cell phone rang. I was surprised that I had left it on and even more surprised that it had any power. I was such a lazyass about plugging it in. "Hello?" I asked.

"It's time," Kakuzu mumbled. "We're going after 'Two-Tails' _tonight_."

TO BE CONTINUED


	8. When I Rejected Her

****

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 8: When I Rejected Her**

Midnight. Dark sky. Full moon. Thick air. Cold breeze. Nervous man.

Kakuzu and I waited outside the apartment of "Two-Tails" on that cold night. We knew that she would be returning soon. Pein had told us that she wasn't really a night person, so it was safe to say, even if she was out partying, that she would be back before long.

I gripped my scythe in my right hand and breathed deeply. Jashin, it had been a while since I had used this on a human other than myself. This wasn't going to be easy.

It was only made worse because of the call I had made earlier that day after I had gotten home from school. When I was sure that he would be alone, I called Deidara's cell. He picked it up and asked me what was wrong, so I told him about Kakuzu's demands to go after our Jinchuuriki. I then asked him to do a little research for me.

"Find out whatever you can about 'Two-Tails'," I almost begged. "I need to know what I'm going after. You're on those online profile websites all the time. You should be able to find _something_."

I could tell that Deidara was busy at his laptop as soon as I had asked for the information; he never passed up a good reason to use that contraption.

Two minutes later, the blonde spoke into the phone again. "Hidan, un," he began, "I found something." I heard him click the mouse a few times. "Okay, I've got it. She's a senior at that Cloud Academy. Her name is Yugito Nii. She's planning on becoming a vet after studying biology in college. She's famous at Cloud Academy for being a 'vengeance bringer.' If anyone wants revenge on someone, that person goes to her to get the job done, un. That was probably where she gets her full nickname from. She's known as the 'Two-Tailed Cat' in her school." He paused. "I'm sure you know the legend of the Chinese zodiac and how the cat is left out, right, un?"

"Yeah, I know," I sighed. "Thanks, Dei. I owe you again."

"It's no problem, un," Deidara replied. "Still...I don't mean to ask, but why do you want to know all this?"

I was quiet for a long time before responding. When I finally spoke, I only said one sentence, and then I hung up.

"I need to know what kind of chick I'm dealing with."

I watched my breath become visible as I exhaled deeply. It was getting colder outside, but my body was hot with anxiety. I swallowed the lump rising in my throat. It was strange. I had _never_ been so nervous about going on a mission for Akatsuki before, and I had _never_ passed up an opportunity to sacrifice someone to Jashin. It meant _nothing_ to me. If anything, it always made Jashin happy, so that was reason enough for me to do it.

If that was so, why did I feel like I was about to do something horrible?

I clutched the scythe close and said a short prayer. "Jashin-sama," I murmured, "give me strength. Give me courage. Give me the guts I need to spill the guts properly, if you'll pardon the expression. Please...I beg you. Amen."

"You muttering some gibberish again?" Kakuzu snapped. "Shut up. I think I see our target."

I immediately shot my head up and grabbed onto the Jashin symbol hanging around my neck. Yeah, there was no doubt about it. A high school girl was walking down the street towards the apartment. Even in the darkness, I could tell it was her. Wow, she was pretty. She didn't look like a "vengeance bringer." She looked rather harmless.

"Let's go," my partner mumbled. Silently, the two of us slipped through the darkness, under the shadows, closer towards "Two-Tails." I panted heavily as we made our way closer. I could see her clearly, her long hair swinging in its ponytail and her painted lips whistling a random tune. Oh, my Jashin, she looked so damn innocent.

Eventually, she walked up to where Kakuzu and I were hiding. Kakuzu immediately jumped out and grabbed her arms, forcing them behind her back. I jumped out and held one of the blades against her neck. I tried to look menacing.

Yugito didn't panic. Her dark eyes narrowed, and she suddenly flipped her lower half outwards, successfully kicking both Kakuzu and me in the stomach. It was hard enough that I had to take a few steps back to recover, and Kakuzu loosened his grip on her enough to let her escape. Once she was out of his grasp, my partner cursed loudly and ran after her. "Come on, Hidan!" he shouted. "Get your lazy ass up! We need to catch her!"

I blinked twice and followed him. Yugito led us down a long trail, through two different parks and across a parking lot until we made it to a bridge crossing over a small man-made river. At one point, she slipped into the darkness, and neither one of us could see her. Kakuzu and I exchanged glances and split up.

Five minutes later, I heard a girl's scream come from the opposite direction. My partner had found her! I ran in the direction from which the scream had come and searched the shadows for any sign of life. Soon enough, I saw Yugito running in my direction. I tried lifting my scythe but only got about halfway up before she swiftly ran past me. Kakuzu stumbled out of the darkness and pointed at the frantic girl. "GET HER, HIDAN!!" he screamed. "Get your crappy act together and go after her!"

I turned and ran in the direction I had seen Yugito go. It wasn't that hard to pick up her trail, because I could see little red droplets in the grass. As I followed them, I noticed that they started to get bigger. The breath caught in my throat when I saw them melt into the darkness. Yugito was standing within those shadows under the bridge.

I quietly walked under the structure and looked quickly to my right. There she was, curled up into a ball and sobbing pathetically. Oh, Jashin, if I needed strength at any moment, it was right then.

Yugito looked up at me with huge, panicked eyes. I could tell that she wanted to run, but I could also tell that she had no strength in her legs. She was so damn scared. She was scared to the point to screaming for help, and I noticed that her mouth was twitching, ready to do so if need be.

I frantically looked from side to side to make sure Kakuzu wasn't there. When I was sure that we were alone, I looked back at Yugito and murmured, "Are you part of the Jinchuuriki gang?"

Yugito's eyes started to tear. "No," she whispered. "I've heard of them, but I'm not one of them." She paused. "They _asked_ me to join them, but I refused. My nickname had nothing to do with that gang! You have to believe me!"

I stared at her. _What?_ She _wasn't_ part of Jinchuuriki? It was a misunderstanding?

I watched the blood drip down her face and into the water below us. She was badly injured. Whatever Kakuzu had done to her sure had weakened her, and I knew that it would only take a few slices from my blade to kill her. That was all I needed to do. Hell, I didn't even need to do THAT! I could have just beaten the crap out of her and been done with it. THAT was the mission. It was easy!

I slowly lifted my scythe and narrowed my eyes. I could do this. I could DO this. I could _fucking do this..._

I lowered my scythe.

_I couldn't do it._

_"_Get out of here," I murmured. "Get up and go before my partner finds you." I paused to sigh. "Don't ever make yourself seem like a threat to Akatsuki though, okay? If you do, others will come after you, and they won't be as forgiving."

Yugito nodded and ran away from the bridge towards her apartment. I watched her as she ran. Her pretty face was destroyed, and her hair that was once neatly put away was filled with globs of mud and blood. Jashin, I hardly needed to do a thing; Kakuzu had beaten her up pretty well.

It was that face.

When she had looked up at me, she had looked scared shitless. She looked...

Vulnerable.

The worst part was that it was the same vulnerability that Tayuya had showed me. I just couldn't do it.

"HIDAN, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!" Kakuzu screamed, throwing me against the concrete bridge. I cursed loudly as my head smacked against the cold stone. Squinting my eyes shut, I could feel the blood dripping down my back and cursed under my breath. When I opened my eyes, I was met with Kakuzu's angry green ones. "YOU BASTARD!!" he repeated. "YOU LET THE JINCHUURIKI GO!!"

"She wasn't a part of the Jinchuuriki, dumbass!" I shouted. "Pein's information was wrong. She just had a nickname that made her _sound _like she was a part of Jinchuuriki, damn it!" I gripped Kakuzu's wrists tightly. "She was totally innocent. THAT was why I let her go."

"SHIT, HIDAN!!" Kakuzu screamed, shaking me against the concrete. "We are going to be in so much fucking trouble with Pein! If he finds out that we let 'Two-Tails' go...!"

"SHE HAS A FUCKING NAME, JERK!!" I cried, slapping my partner's hands away. "Her name is Yugito Nii! She's going to become a vet after she graduates from college!"

Kakuzu's eyes grew wide, and he took a few steps back to see me completely. I panted heavily as he steadily kept his eyes fixed on me. The moonlight made him look that much more threatening. I almost couldn't take it.

"Oh, my..." he finally gasped. "It's that chick. It's that Tayuya chick." I could tell that his body was going numb. "You spend a little bit of time with a chick you couldn't stand a few months ago, and you suddenly lose everything about you that makes you YOU!" I watched as he balled his hands into fists. "You are so fucking dead," he murmured. "Akatsuki is going to suffer because of you. If you don't choose between Akatsuki and this girl RIGHT FUCKING NOW, I will kill you myself, RIGHT FUCKING HERE."

I gasped. Jashin, if I ever needed a miracle, I needed one NOW.

"I love her," I whispered.

Stupid.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "You'd choose that psycho over the gang?" he growled. "You really would? I can't believe you." He was silent for a moment. "Do you even worship Jashin anymore?"

I gasped. "What the fuck kind of question is THAT?!" I roared. "OF COURSE I still woship Jashin-sama!! How DARE you?!" I lifted my scythe. "Just for that, you'll...!"

"I thought Jashinists weren't allowed to love."

I stopped. Oh, my fucking Jashin, he was _right_. I remembered reading about that in the Holy Book. Followers of Jashin were _not_ allowed to love, only hate. I shook all over. It was true. In Jashinism, there was no Heaven, only Hell. There was no salvation, only damnation. There was no love, only hate.

I was breaking one of the most important rules of my beloved religion.

"Figure out who you love more first," Kakuzu breathed. "If you love Tayuya that much, you'll be abandoning both Akatsuki AND Jashin." He turned and walked into the dark streets. I watched him until he was out of sight.

When he was finally gone, I dropped to my knees and cried.

I _fucking cried._

The next morning, I woke up with tears in my eyes. My eyes were pinker than usual and really puffy. I looked like a damn idiot when I finally saw myself in the mirror. Jashin, I looked stupid. I was a total wuss, and I hated myself for it.

I sluggishly threw myself into the shower but didn't really wash myself. I just sort of stood there and let the hot water run over my pale skin. Normally, I wouldn't turn the water heat up that high, but I was too damn numb to care. I couldn't feel anything but the pain in my heart. I knew that I loved Tayuya. I couldn't help it. I loved her so damn much. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and hold her forever. I wanted to run my fingers through her pink hair and stare into her brown eyes. I wanted to share all the strawberry ice cream bars in the world with her. I wanted to bring her into my heart and give her the love she didn't feel at home.

I wanted to love Tayuya AND Jashin.

I leaned up against the cold tiles and cried some more. Jashin, I was so damn pathetic. This one girl had changed me so much in record time. But _why_? It wasn't like she was some saint. She was rude, harsh, cross, always angry, and unlikable. She had the mouth of a construction worker and no manners. Hell, she hardly had any breasts!! She was nothing like the perfect, ideal girl. NOTHING.

And yet...Damn it all...I loved her.

"Hellfire..." I whispered without thinking. "Dark fire..."

It hit me. This was the villain's song from the only Disney movie I had really watched and remembered as a kid.

"This fire in my skin...This burning desire...is turning me to sin..."

I was sinning.

I threw myself against the shower tiles and let more tears fall. Slowly, I shut the water off so all I could hear were the sounds of my own sobs. I stood there like that for a while and didn't bother reaching for a towel. I was there long enough to start air drying.

Eventually, I hauled my ass out of the shower and dried off. I washed my face and brushed my teeth in front of the foggy mirror. When I was done, I slicked the comb full of gel through my hair but didn't style it back all the way. I was in no mood to go all out. I let the comb fall to the counter and sighed. I was so damn out of it.

No sooner had I gotten dressed, there was a knock on the door. "Let me in, jackass," I heard Tayuya hiss. "It's Sunday. I'm playing for you, remember?"

I had lost track of all time. I had overslept and forgotten that it was Sunday.

I gently opened the door to reveal a grinning Tayuya. She shuffled her way into my room and put her instrument together. I followed her and sat down on my bed, ready to listen to the performance. Maybe the sound of the flute would cheer me up.

It didn't. If anything, it made my heart hurt _worse._

"And that'll do it for today," Tayuya finished, pleased with herself. She deftly took the instrument apart and put it back in its case. Before she could finish doing that though, she looked up at me and stared into my pink eyes. "Holy shit, what's the matter with you?" she asked as if she truly cared. "Have you been _crying_?"

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. "I was up all night trying to figure out my geometry homework. If I don't do well on my next test, I'll fail for the semester."

I'd like to thank the Academy.

Tayuya nodded. "I can help you if you want," she offered. "Show me the work."

"How could _you _help me, first-year?" I snapped.

The girl smirked. "I've practically lived the third year of Shinobi High many times before. My brothers all had to learn the same geometry you do." She grabbed my backpack from the nearby corner and sat next to me on my bed. "Trust me, you can do it." She gave me a reassuring smile. "If that idiot Jiroubo could pass Asuma-sensei's class, then you can." She flipped through some of my notebooks until she found the one for math. Surprisingly, I didn't argue.

"It's on the area of shapes within shapes," I told her. "I don't get it."

Tayuya sighed. "You know how to find the area of different shapes, don't you, stupid?" she groaned. I nodded. "Then you can figure this out!" She practically screamed that sentence. "It's not that hard! Take a look at this here." She pointed to a drawing of a hexagon with a triangle on the inside. "Do you have ANY idea of what to do here?" I shook my head. She just frowned bitterly and rested her face in the palm of her hand. "I wonder if there's something around here I could use to explain it to you..."

Without thinking, I got up and moved my bed against my wall. Tayuya cursed loudly when I did so but fell silent when she saw the symbol on my floor. She looked up at me. "That'll work." She got down on her knees and sat outside the Jashinism symbol. I watched as she pointed towards different sections of the symbol. "So you'd find the area of the circle and the triangle and then subtract the area of the shape within from the area of the shape on the outside. That gives you the area of these three remaining spaces." She pointed to where the triangle didn't take up space. "You divide that number by three, and you have the area of each of these little spaces." She looked up at me. "Does that make sense?"

I nodded. It really did. _It made fucking sense!_

I didn't say anything though. I knew that if I said anything, the wrong words would come out.

Tayuya narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you going to say something, jerk?" she spat. "I just saved your ass from failing this next test. Can't you be _a little_ appreciative?"

I don't know why I said it.

"I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU ANYMORE!!"

Time froze. It fucking _froze._

Tayuya stared at me with wide eyes. She was shaking all over, and I watched as the color drained out of her skin. She was pale and lifeless with unblinking eyes.

Oh, _shit._

_"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!" _she screamed, slapping me across the face and standing. _"DO I REALLY MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?! YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!" _She hoisted her middle finger upwards toward me and grabbed her instrument case. She stomped angrily out my door and screamed, "_BURN IN HELL, FUCKER!!"_

I sat on the symbol painted on my floor and stared at the empty room before me. It was clean and orderly, something Tayuya had helped me do. It smelled pleasant and welcoming, something Tayuya had done. I stared at the room. I wasn't worthy of being _alive_.

I broke down and cried atop the symbol, pounding my fist into the paint. I screamed into the carpet and did everything I could to inflict as much pain as I could on myself. I was so fucked. I had fucked things up BIG TIME.

I hadn't just hurt myself. I had hurt Tayuya.

When she had run out of my room, there were tears in her eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED


	9. When I Saved Her

****

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 9: When I Saved Her**

Time passes slowly when you feel like shit. There are moments when you want nothing more than for the day to end so you can go to sleep and try to figure out how you're going to survive the next day. Then there are other moments when you want to wallow in your misery and have a yourself a pity-party.

However, when you feel as shitty as I did, you lose all track of what time really means. In a way, I guess you could say I had insomnia. I was never really asleep, and I was never really awake. I was going through each day, watching it all pass before me. I wasn't living; I was just alive.

There were moments when I would see the top of Tayuya's head in a crowd. She often wore this ridiculous looking black hat, and her long pink locks cascaded down her back. Jashin, she was beautiful, even from behind. Sometimes, I would get a full view of her, but I would never see her face. I think she wanted to avoid even being in the same area with me at all costs. I didn't blame her.

Surprisingly enough, my grades in geometry started improving. All that crap about the area of shapes made sense thanks to Tayuya's one lesson, and everything that followed it wasn't a huge challenge. I got a B+ on the test about area, and my grades rose from there. I got an A on a final test on what we had learned during the second semester.

"Congratulations," Asuma-sensei rewarded when he passed that test back. "I have no idea what you're doing, but you should keep it up. You might actually get a really good final grade if you continue like this."

So I had to feel like shit to do well in geometry. Fuck.

The days quickly melted into months, and the holidays passed without much excitement. The Akatsuki had its usual Christmas party, and it was held at Tobi's apartment this year. Tobi had prepared all sorts of food and games for us, and Kakuzu brought booze from work. Gifts were exchanged through a secret Santa process. I ended up getting Sasori, so I just got him a gift card for the local art supplies store. I think he was happy; he didn't complain.

The New Year came and went as well, though the Chinese New Year was going to be later, around the beginning of February. I didn't think to check what year it was going to be.

Then the third and final semester of school started. It was the home stretch, and all I had to do was survive and pull decent finals out of my ass in order to graduate. Easy enough. Somewhere in all there though, I was suddenly inspired to do some college work. I think it kept my mind off Tayuya and on something else that mattered.

Actually, well, I'm not so sure if it mattered all that much to me. It _did_ keep my mind off Tayuya though, and that was what I needed. I spent a lot of my time, if I wasn't doing regular school work, studying for a few exams. On each exam, I wrote down that I planned on studying religion. I didn't know if anyone would take me with how badly I probably did on those exams, but it was still worth a try.

Now you're probably wondering why I didn't get in trouble with Pein after the incident concerning Yugito. Well, as soon as I had broken it off with Tayuya, I called Kakuzu and told him what I had done. He seemed rather satisfied when he told me he wouldn't blame _all_ of the failure of the mission on me. Pein was just glad to hear that I wasn't seeing the daughter of Orochimaru anymore.

"Not only is she not a member of Akatsuki," he told me, "but she's the only daughter of one of the biggest yakuza bosses of our time. It's better that you don't concern yourself with her.'

Fuck him. He was happy with that bitch Konan. Why couldn't I be happy with Tayuya?

Regardless of any of that, I tried living out the rest of my senior year the best I could. I took all the exams teachers told me to and did all my regular schoolwork without any fuss. It was strange for me. I think Asuma-sensei was scared.

One day though, I was in for a bit of a scare. I walked into the bathroom, expecting to be confronted by the sex-starved art brothers, but no one was there. I was a little confused at first, obviously. I always had great timing when it came to watching my friend and his boyfriend make out against the cold tiles on the wall. There was no one and nothing there though. There weren't even any stains from any activity. The place was quiet and clean, and it didn't smell like sex.

Something was wrong.

I was just about to open the door to look out into the hallway when Sasori pulled the handle backwards. I sighed when I saw him. Yes, I still had perfect timing.

But then I noticed something strange. He was alone.

"Sasori," I began, "where's Deidara?"

The redhead shrugged. "I don't know," he confessed. "He's not in school today."

"And he didn't tell you why?"

He shook his head. "He just told me that he wasn't coming to school today and hung up. I've tried calling him almost ten times today, but he won't answer me." He shook his head sadly and walked to a sink to wash his hands. "Maybe he'll talk to you," he suddenly suggested. "You're his friend, right?"

I snorted. "If he's not going to talk to you, then there's no way in hell he'll talk to me."

"It's worth a try."

I frowned and walked out of the bathroom without another word. It was coming close to the end of the day anyway, so I took the rest of that Friday off. They wouldn't miss me in history class.

I ran to the parking lot, hopped onto my bike, started the engine, and sped off. I had no damn idea where the hell I was going, but I knew I needed to start _somewhere_. I immediately thought to head over to the blonde's apartment, but something told me that Sasori had already tried that. He and Deidara had copies of the other's key, so it was likely that he would have already checked there by now.

As I drove down the street, I tried to think of where else he could be. Deidara was _not _a drinker, so the chances of him being at the bar were slim. I thought about checking the art store, but if he were there, he wouldn't have been there all day long. Sooner or later, the employees would have thrown him out. I tried to think. Where..._Where_ would Deidara go not to be bothered?

And then it hit me.

I headed for the park. During the day, all the teenagers were at school, and many of them were too busy with exams to go out. None of the younger kids would recognize a high school student. It was the _perfect_ place to hide out during a school day.

Soon enough, I saw a blonde head sitting on the bench where the two of us had sat the first time a few months ago. I locked up my bike and set my helmet down, keeping my eyes on that blonde hair to make sure it didn't go anywhere. When I was done, I walked over to the bench and sat down, catching Deidara by surprise.

"It's not like you to skip school," I began. The blonde gasped when he saw me.

"Hidan! What are you doing here, un?"

"Looking for you. Sasori said that you told him that you weren't coming to school today and that you refuse to talk to him. Any reason in particular why?"

He was nervous, I could tell. His hands were folded between his legs, and his back was hunched over. His eyes were glassy, and his face was tinted pink. I couldn't tell if he had been crying or was just tired.

"Sasori no danna got into that art school," he finally murmured.

My eyes widened. "Good for him. You must be happy for him."

A sad grin appeared on my friend's face. "Yes, I am, un," he confirmed, nodding. "I'm really happy for him. He also got a scholarship that cuts his funds in half, so he won't have to work as hard as he thought to pay for tuition and all that other stuff, un." He paused. "I'm sure he'll do really well there."

"So what's got you so upset?"

"I want to go with him, un."

I groaned. "Dei, I thought we talked about this. If you want to go with him, apply there and just don't blow up your sculptures until _after_ they've been judged. Hey, you might get in."

Deidara shook his head. "That's not the point, un," I heard him whisper. He suddenly looked up at me with big, teary eyes. "Do you know why I dress the way I do?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "You mean like a whore?"

"I'M _NOT_ A WHORE, YOU BASTARD!!"

His sudden outburst caught me by surprise, and I scooted away from him, nervous. He had a murderous glare in his eyes that almost reminded me of Tayuya's "I'm-going-to-kill-you" face. He looked as though he was about to pounce out of rage.

"I AM _NOT_ A WHORE." He grabbed the collar of my uniform and pulled me close to his face. I was too scared to react. "I told_ you, _Sasori no danna was my first time, and I've been with him ever since. I dress like this," he hissed, "because Sasori no danna isn't gay."

I recoiled out of pure shock. "What the hell?!" I gasped. "You two are ALWAYS making out and having sex in the bathroom! What do you _mean_ he's not gay?!"

In retrospect, it probably would have been better if we were having this conversation in a place OTHER than where all the little kids could hear us.

Deidara frowned bitterly. "He told me, un," he explained. "After he and I did it for the first time, he told me that he wasn't gay. I was shocked and felt betrayed at first, but then he told me that I was different." He suddenly calmed down and let go of my collar, sitting down normally on the bench. I watch him with high interest.

"Doesn't that mean that he loves you anyway?" I asked, totally clueless.

I watched as the tears started welling up in the blonde's eyes again. "But what if...what if he goes to this art school...and meets some hot artist chick, un?" The salty liquid began to pour down his face. "What if...if I don't go with him...what if he...falls for some girl? He's...he's not gay! He's straight, un! He'll love her...and forget all about me..." He sniffed between sobs. "That's why I try to look like a girl as much as I can while still being a guy, un. I don't want...Sasori no danna to forget...about me. I want him to love me...the way he would love a girl..." The tears overflowed out of his eyes and down his pink cheeks. "I don't want to...lose him, un. I love him so much, but...if he meets some girl..."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" I suddenly screamed, slapping the blonde across the face. After a moment of silence, he looked up at me with large, horrified eyes. I was panting heavily and had a twinge of anger in my voice when I spoke. "Everything you've ever done in your damn life, you've done for that bastard Sasori! Obviously, the guy is fucking hopelessly in love with you. He's tried calling you ten times today! He's CRAZY about you!" I stopped to catch my breath and lower my voice. "If he wasn't, he wouldn't have come to your friggin' apartment in the middle of the night to confess to you, now would he?"

My friend's eyes grew even wider, if that was humanly possible. He shook his head slowly. "No..." he whispered. "He wouldn't have." He wiped some of the tears away. "And he wouldn't constantly tell me I was beautiful, un, and he wouldn't come take care of me when I don't feel well, and he wouldn't help me with my living expenses, and he wouldn't offer to help me with my work..."

"And he wouldn't be having sex with you in the bathroom at school almost every damn waking moment," I added.

Deidara almost giggled. "You're right, un."

I smirked. "What do YOU want to do, Dei?"

"I want to go to art school with Sasori no danna, and I'm going to do it for _myself_."

"And fuck whatever anyone else says."

The next day, school was slightly better. I wasn't feeling so crappy since I knew that Deidara was obviously going to apply to the same art school as Sasori. It was perfect timing, too, because the last day to submit something for judgement was in two weeks.

Geometry that Saturday morning was something of a waste of time. Asuma-sensei didn't really teach anything; he spent more of his time explaining the importance of continuing math studies in college. I didn't really listen, though I could see Kakuzu from across the room, and he looked as though he was writing _everything _down. I assumed he wanted to have a job that had something to do with a lot money, that jerk.

Later that day, as I left music class, I saw the art brothers in the hallway, looking pretty happy. I had to smile to myself. Sasori must have heard about Deidara's decision to try to get into his college. Actually, the redhead looked quite proud. The blonde just smiled, but the expression faded when he looked up and saw me.

"Hidan, un!" he cried, running over to me. "I've got bad news!"

My eyes grew wide. "What?" _Oh, PLEASE, Jashin-sama, don't let it have something to do with his college plans!_

Deidara's voice was quiet when he spoke. "Itachi was admitted into the hospital last night, un."

I dropped my bag and stared at him. "What THE FUCK?!" I almost shouted. "What do you mean?! What the hell is _wrong_ with that poor bastard?!"

Sasori came up behind his boyfriend and shook his head. "We don't know," he murmured. "That's why he's there. Now, I heard this from Tobi, who heard it from Sasuke, so I don't know if it's totally accurate, but apparently, he passed out without warning last night. Sasuke was in such a panic that he called an ambulance." He narrowed his eyes at me. "You _did_ notice that he wasn't in school today, right?"

Ouch. When Sasori wanted to, he sure could hurt someone's pride.

He shook his head. "Whatever," he muttered. "Dei, we're getting out of here."

The blonde suddenly had a worried look on his face as his partner grabbed him by the arm and forced him out of the school. He desperately tried to look back at me, and I could see fear in his eyes. What was up with him? Did it have something to do with Itachi?

Regardless, I couldn't let someone else's shit bother me. I still had my own to deal with.

Little did I know that I would be dealing with said shit later that night.

The phone call came around seven. It was on my home phone, and I picked it up without looking at the ID. "Hello?" I asked. "Who is this?"

"HIDAN!!" I head Deidara scream. I actually pulled the phone away from my ear, it was so damn loud. "YOU'VE GOT TO COME HELP, UN!!" he cried. "IT'S AT THE BAR!! HURRY!!"

"Deidara, what THE FUCK are you TALKING about?!" I shouted. "What's going on?!"

"DEIDARA, GIVE ME THE PHONE," I heard Pein command. I also heard all sorts of fighting going on in the background. What in the fucking hell was going on?

"Deidara!" I called out desperately. "What's going on?!"

I heard my friend take a huge breath before he spoke. "TAYUYA!!"

My heart stopped beating, and when it started up again, it was going faster than a bullet train.

I slammed down the phone without listening to another word. I didn't even bother to put my shoes and proper outerwear for winter on. I just grabbed my scythe, slammed the apartment door behind me without locking it, and fucking _raced_ down the stairs until I could jump over the sides without getting hurt. I started my motorcycle and ignored my helmet as I sped into traffic. Jashin, I was going so damn above the speed limit, but I didn't care. I HAD to get to the bar.

I was there within minutes, but when I finally saw what was happening, I wished I hadn't.

The inside of the bar was dark, but I could see random flashes of light going off, illuminating the scene inside. I stared. Kisame was hanging onto Tayuya with her arms behind her back, and Kakuzu was at work tying her to a chair. I saw Tobi and Zetsu holding Deidara down in a corner, and Konan was on watch duty. Sasori was tied up to another chair, and Pein was pacing back and forth across the floor.

_What the FUCK?!_

My brain couldn't process any of it. Despite that, I parked my bike as quietly as I could and gripped my scythe. There was a back entrance to the bar. I decided to, instead of having to deal with Konan, go there. I was glad I did. No one was there, and that made it so much easier to get inside.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" I screamed as I emerged from the back room. Everyone jumped when they saw me, and I turned on the light near the door. I saw Deidara with a look of relief and terror in his eyes. He was gagged, as was Sasori. When I looked at Tayuya, I noticed that she was bound and gagged, too. I looked up at Kakuzu and gave him one of those "I-fucking-hate-you" stares while Pein just glared at me. Then he suddenly looked back at Deidara.

"You told him!" he roared. "You told him about this! Damn it, Deidara, I thought you were with us on this!"

I blinked. _What?_

Pein looked back at me. "I can't let this go," he told me. "We're taking care of this chick."

I looked at Tayuya. She was crying so damn hard. Her eyes and cheeks were pink and puffy, and she was sweating like an idiot. I turned back to Pein. "What the fuck are you talking about?!" I snapped. "Didn't Kakuzu tell you that I broke up with her?!"

"We want to make sure that you're never distracted again," my leader said simply. His gray eyes flashed, and he looked down at Tayuya. "We don't care what the cost is. If killing her means going to war with Orochimaru and the yakuza, we'll rise to the challenge. We don't care if we're all killed. At least we'll be a unified gang." His glare came back to me. "After all, you picked the gang over this girl, right? You shouldn't feel anything if we kill her."

"How would you feel if that bastard Orochimaru kidnapped Konan and declared a war on you?!" I growled.

Pein just shrugged. "First of all," he began calmly, "Konan wouldn't be stupid and walking out here alone. She wouldn't have fallen for the trap that Tayuya did." He smirked. "It was too easy. We just offered her a free shot, and she was ours."

I don't know why I did what I did next. Without thinking, I held up my scythe and sped towards Pein, screaming the whole way. The orange-haired man literally caught me and threw me across the bar. I cried out when my head met with a windowsill but didn't fall over completely. I quickly picked myself up and ran for him again, but Kisame was faster. He unleashed his sword and tried swinging it at me, but, somehow, he missed.

I looked up and saw Sasori free from the ropes and the chair, a knife in his hand. I should have known that he would have all sorts of contraptions with him at all times, and I was so damn happy that he did. He charged towards Kisame and went in to attack. I watched at the blade made contact with his painted skin, and red suddenly met the blue on his face. While I had a moment, I ran to Deidara, gave Tobi and Zetsu a few good cuts (but nothing serious), and freed the blonde from the ropes. He pulled the gag from his mouth and sent a quick punch into Tobi's stomach. Zetsu backed away and must have had a panic attack, because he suddenly dropped to the floor and began rocking back and forth, curled up in a little ball.

I left Tobi to the blonde and Kisame to the redhead while I ran for Tayuya. Suddenly, Pein jumped in my way and sent a kick into my ribs. I spat up blood and coughed for air as he went in for another kick, but someone stopped him before he could hit. I looked to my side and saw someone I never expected.

Konan was standing there, hanging onto her boyfriend's foot with a murderous glare in her dark eyes. All of a sudden, she let loose and punched the pierced man in the face, sending him flying backwards. She looked at me and nodded. "Go save your girl," she whispered as she ran for our leader.

I _never_ expected Konan, of all people, to help me out here, but I didn't argue. I scampered over to Tayuya and cut the ropes from her chair. She pulled the gag out of her mouth and fell onto me, sobbing hysterically. I held onto her the best I could while staring down Kakuzu. He wasn't making any moves to attack, so I turned and tried getting Tayuya out of harm's way. Jashin, I was just too fucking happy that I had made it in time before she had been seriously hurt.

Before I could get her out of the bar though, the front doors swung open, and a tall figure stood there. He had an evil frown on his pale face, and he looked as though he was about to kill us all. I stared at him and gasped.

_No...fucking...way..._

"WHERE _THE FUCK_ IS MY DAUGHTER?!" Orochimaru screamed above the fighting. Everyone froze and didn't dare lay another finger on anyone. The man immediately looked down and saw me hanging onto Tayuya. His eyes narrowed and I wasn't sure whether I was relieved or terrified.

"Your daughter is right here, Sound-san," I whispered. "She is unharmed."

Orochimaru suddenly breathed a huge sigh of relief as he took his daughter in his arms. He held her close kissed the top of her head while smoothing her pink hair back. She wailed crazily against him and gripped his collared shirt tightly. Looking up, I could see the rest of the family herding in behind their father. I first noticed Kimimaro and then the twins Sakon and Ukon. Jiroubo was easy to spot because of his size, and I assumed that the older looking guy with the glasses was Kabuto. Kiddoumaru was among them as well.

"I'm just glad you're safe," I heard Orochimaru whisper to his daughter. "Don't ever scare me like that again." He looked up and glared at us. "And now you punks will pay for this!"

"Don't hurt them!" Tayuya suddenly cried, looking up. "It was my fault! I was the stupid one here. They thought I was a threat to Akatsuki, so they came after me. It was all my fault! Please don't hurt them! Don't wage a war against them!"

Orochimaru blinked a few times, and his expression softened. "Fine," he hissed. "We're going home." He passed his daughter over to Kabuto and stared at us. "You idiots are lucky my daughter is so forgiving. However, if any of you EVER touch her again, you will ALL pay for it." He paused and looked at me. "This is not what Akatsuki used to be," he told me. "It was just a group of mischief-makers when I was part of it. Akatsuki members do NOT kill people."

With that, he turned and left, his sons following him, Tayuya safe in Kabuto's arms.

The tension behind me immediately disappeared, and all the fighting stopped. Konan helped Pein stand and brushed him off of dirt and blood. Kisame and Sasori both lowered their weapons and took a few steps away from each other. Deidara crouched down next to Tobi to make sure he was okay and calmed Zetsu down. Kakuzu lowered his head, as if to say he was sorry.

Kimimaro suddenly appeared before me with surprised yet sad eyes. "She cried," he murmured. "My sister cried." He was silent for a moment. "I'll ask you again, Hidan. Has she ever laughed or cried with you?"

What could I do?

I nodded. "She's laughed many times with me," I replied regretfully. "She only cried one other time though, and it was when I broke it off with her."

"Still, she cried around you, and that's what matters." The white-haired man shook his head. "My God," he breathed. "I can't believe it. That's the first time in Tayuya's life." He suddenly smiled. "You're something special," he reassured me. "When all this is behind us, you should get back together with her. With me at least, you are welcomed into our family."

He gave me one last smile before turning and leaving.

TO BE CONTINUED


	10. When I Hated Him

****

**Author's Note: **This chapter is from Tayuya's point of view.

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 10: When I Hated Him**

I felt like an idiot as Kabuto carried me into our house. I could feel the hatred coming from him and the rest of my brothers as we entered. They seemed to be trying to hurt me with their gazes, and I would be dead if looks could kill. I tried my best to hide my face from them, but their glares still gouged their way into my skin.

Kabuto set me down as soon as I heard the front door close. Slowly, everyone spread out around the nearby living room as soon as they took their shoes off. I stood near the entrance, not wanting to join the rest of them. If there was ever a time when I wanted to be dead, it was at that moment.

"I'm glad you're safe," I heard Dad murmur as he walked into the kitchen to the right. "Would you like something, Ta-chan? Something to eat? Something to drink?"

"Ha!" Kiddoumaru suddenly burst out. "You're offering her something to drink after the incident we just faced at that bar?! No wonder the brat is so screwed up!"

"She's ruined our entire night now," Jiroubo spat. "I was going to meet up with friends."

Sakon and Ukon hoisted up their middle fingers at me simultaneously. "You're such a pain in the ass," they hissed together.

Kabuto snorted. "Bitch."

_No wonder the brat is so screwed up!_

_She's ruined our entire night now._

_You're such a pain in the ass._

_Bitch._

I slapped my hands over my ears. God, I did NOT need to be hearing those things. I groaned and wanted to cry when I heard my stupid brothers snickering. Damn, those guys were such assholes, and I was cursing everyone in my head for being home. Normally, they all would have been away at school or work, so seeing all of them was the last thing I wanted.

"Give her a break," Kimimaro suddenly interrupted. I looked up at him with wide eyes. He was standing next to me, and his hand was on my shoulder. "She's just a kid. She made a mistake. What a surprise! She's human!" He took his hand away. "It wasn't her fault."

I gasped. Someone was on my side.

"What do you _mean_ 'It wasn't her fault'?!" Sakon exploded. "OF COURSE it was her fault! If she hadn't gone and been an idiot, none of this would have happened!"

Ukon nodded. "We'd be better off if she had died there. She's nothing but a nuisance."

_If she hadn't gone and been an idiot, none of this would have happened!_

_She's nothing but a nuisance._

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH," Dad finally announced. He turned towards my brothers. "ALL OF YOU are staying in this house for the rest of the night, no questions asked. No one is going out for any reason without my approval." He took his cell phone from his back pocket. "Don't make me call my men on you."

I watched as my brothers twisted their faces in anger and disgust as they muttered curses under their breath and headed up the stairs to their rooms. They snuck in their last insults and slammed their doors at the top of the stairs. I kept my eye on them and barely noticed when Kimimaro began heading up the stairs.

"Kimimaro," Dad continued, "remember that your physical therapist will be here at eight."

My brother nodded. "Yes, Father." He looked back at me, smiled one last time, and climbed the stairs. I watched him as he shut the door to his bedroom behind him.

Dad let out a long sigh and put his cell back in his pocket. "I'm sorry about that, Ta-chan" he murmured. "They won't bother you for at least the rest of the night." He glanced at me. I didn't look back at him, but I could tell that he was trying to make eye contact with me. He sighed again. "I don't want you going out tonight either, Ta-chan. Stay at home, okay? Tomorrow you can go out. It's just been a really rough night. Go to bed early, okay?"

Once again, I refused to look at my father. I heard him give another deep sigh.

"If you won't respond, I'll leave," he offered. He waited for a moment and then walked out of the kitchen and past me. I could tell that he desperately wanted to talk to me, but I was too busy being a stubborn ass. I waited until I heard the closing of his bedroom door to break down.

I fell to my knees and let a few tears fall. God, what was up with me? I _never_ cried, literally. Tears showed weakness, not strength, and all my life, I had sworn to be strong. I had to be strong if I was going to put up with six asshole brothers and a bastard of a father. I needed to have strength to live the life Mom lost. I needed to gain strength to continue to live as I was meant to.

I wasn't meant to love. I was meant to hate.

So why..._why_ was I in love with that loud-mouthed, silver-haired, Devil-worshipping idiot?

I looked up towards the ceiling. I needed an answer as to why, just..._why?_ He was a total moron with nothing working for him besides an _amazing_ chest and an eye for an _awesome _motorcycle.

Well, um, okay, maybe for those reasons, he wasn't _that_ much of a moron.

I gently picked myself up, wiped my tears away, and walked into the kitchen. I needed something to settle myself, so I boiled some water and brewed some tea. I watched as the color of the leaves began to spread into the water, tinting the whole kettle with a very calming shade of green. I frowned. It was just like the tea. My life was full of shit, just like a violent storm of boiling water. The tea leaves had interrupted it, and for a moment, everything was still. Then, when the color began to spread, the water began to calm.

I narrowed my eyes at this thought. This guy, this Hidan guy, was just as bad as I was. He was a total jerk with a foul mouth and no idea how to present himself to a lady. He had even flat-out broken our relationship up for his stupid gang or whatever. God, how I had hated him after that. He had hurt me so damn badly, and he had caused such a pain in my chest unlike I had ever felt before. I hated him for that.

But...at the same time, I was also very...grateful. It was the first time in my life when I had felt...

_...human._

I sighed as the tea finished brewing and took the kettle off the stove. After waiting for a moment, I poured the hot beverage into a cup and brought it to the table. I didn't drink it right away though. For a moment, I sort of just stared at the little ripples that appeared on the surface. The tiniest of movements could start them, and after they could only get bigger until they met with the sides of the cup. They would...crash.

"Oh, you made tea."

I looked up and met with my father's gentle gaze. He had changed out of his collared shirt and slacks and into a normal t-shirt and sweatpants. He was smiling at me as he went for the counter. "Do you mind if I have some, Ta-chan?" I nodded and his grin grew a little.

After a rather awkward silence, Dad sat down next to me at the table and took a sip of his tea. He sighed contently. "You always make good tea, Ta-chan. You'll make a great wife one day."

I twitched at that last sentence. Dad laughed, that jerk.

"I'm sorry, Ta-chan, I didn't mean it like that." He sipped his tea again. "I know you're having a little bit of guy trouble." He smirked when my head jerked up. "I could tell at the bar. It was the boy who was hanging onto you through all the chaos. Damn, Ta-chan, he wasn't going to let go of you for anything. I saw this look in his eyes, even when he was surprised to see me. He would have given up his life if it would keep you alive."

I shook my head out of shock. There was just no way...

Dad sighed after taking another sip of tea. "He's got something for you, Ta-chan. He's something special." He paused. "By the way, chances are good you both would be dead or, at the very least, badly injured if it weren't for Kimimaro." I cocked my head. "He saw what was happening while out driving," Dad explained. "He drove back here and got your brothers and me. We all went down to the bar to stop the fighting. You owe your brother a thank-you in the morning."

I nodded.

After a few more minutes of silence, I finally spoke.

"Dad," I whispered, "why is it that love hurts so badly?"

Dad looked at me with quite a bit of interest in his eyes. He gripped his tea cup and said, "I don't know if asking a yakuza boss will get you a good answer, Ta-chan." I wanted to curse him for joking with me, but something inside me kept me from losing it. I guess I was just too desperate for an answer, whatever the answer would turn out to be. Dad took another sip of tea before continuing. "I guess that when love hurts, it's because of one of two things. It's either because the relationship is bad or because you love a person so much to the point that your physical body can't harbor all those passionate feelings." He was quiet for a moment, but when he did speak, his voice had a twinge of sadness to it. "For your sake, Ta-chan, I sure hope it's the latter of the two."

I looked up at him. "You mean that?"

Dad nodded. "It was the only thing your mother wanted. When she found out she was pregnant with a girl, she told me that she wanted her daughter to one day fall so much in love that she couldn't take it! She wanted you to live happily with a person that you loved with every fiber of your being. She didn't care who. You could have been a lesbian for all she cared. She just wanted you to be happy."

"You think she still wants me to be happy after what I did to her?"

Dad stared at me. "What did you do to her?"

I rolled my eyes. "I killed her."

Dad blinked and shook his head. "No, you didn't kill her," he asserted. "She was always weak. Even when I married her and we started a family, I knew she wouldn't last long. It was just a matter of _when_ her body would give out." He tried smiling. "You didn't kill her, Ta-chan. Besides, even if she wasn't weak, she would have given up her life if it meant she could give birth to a daughter. She just wanted a girl so badly..."

I picked up my tea cup and sipped it to distract myself from letting any tears fall down my face. That couldn't have been right, no way. It had always been me, right? I had always been the one behind the death, right? Well, that was what my stupid brothers had always told me anyway. I had grown up with the idea that I was this evil murderer.

"She was able to hold you for five minutes after you were born," Dad whispered. "After those five minutes, you were taken away from her. She looked at me, smiled, closed her eyes, and died." He paused. "I remember sitting there next to her bed. I hadn't even held you yet, but I couldn't do anything. I just sat there...and cried. Somehow, I knew that this would be it."

I dropped my head. "If everyone knew that this would be it, why didn't anyone stop Mom?" I sobbed quietly. "_She_ should be alive, not me."

Dad drank the last of his tea. "That wasn't what she wanted. What could I do? She had the right to choose."

I rubbed my eyes and looked away from my father. It was all too much.

He just sighed. "I'll leave you alone now," he told me as he began to get up from his seat. "You need to be by yourself."

"Wait a second!" I shouted, thrusting my arm out towards Dad. "Don't! Stay here for a little while longer, okay?" I bit my lip. "I just need to ask you one last question." I narrowed my pink, puffy eyes at him as he sat back down. "Why did you blackmail my school to make me play my flute for them that one morning? You know I damn well I would hate you for that move. You know I always WILL hate you for forcing me to play my flute when I don't want to." Now I was getting angry.

"I just want you to get discovered," Dad replied quickly. "That's all I want."

"So you went and BLACKMAILED my principal to make me play for those high school idiots?! They don't know crap about music!!"

"But you can teach them."

"You can't teach the hopeless!"

"What about that boy, huh?"

"What _about_ him?"

"Oh, don't play stupid with me. I _know_ that you've been seeing him and playing your flute for him. Don't try to hide that one from me." He stuck his unusually long tongue out at me. "I'm your father. I know you. I know when you act differently."

I growled harshly. "Still, he has nothing to do with this," I hissed. "He's special. He's not _that_ much of an idiot. What I want to know is why you would sink so low to get me up on stage."

"I _told_ you, Ta-chan," Dad groaned, trying to be as gentle as possible. "I want you to get discovered."

I looked away and ran my fingers through my hair. "Can I offer you something then if you're going to be so stubborn?"

"What?"

"Can we compromise?"

My father's eyebrow rose. "Go on."

"Alright, how about this: I will play my flute on stage whenever _I_ want. However, you may offer any place for me to play. It'll just be up to me to decide _which _gigs I play at." I grinned. "Can we agree on that?"

Dad laughed shortly. "I guess I can't argue with that."

_OH, HELL, YES!!_

I shook my head amusedly. "Thanks, Dad," I replied.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I looked at Dad and got up out of my seat to see who it was. I peeked through the eyehole and opened the door to see two young men standing before me. They were wearing white medical outfits but didn't seem that experienced in their fields.

I raised an eyebrow. "Can I..._help_ you?"

"Does Kimimaro Sound live here?" one of them asked.

I nodded. "Yes..."

"His usual physical therapist is sick tonight. We were assigned to take his place."

Dad looked up and nodded. "Come in. Kimimaro's room is the second on the right on the upper level. Just tell him what you told us."

The men nodded and passed me as I moved. I narrowed my eyes as I closed the front door and watched them climb the stairs of our home. Something just wasn't...right.

"Ta-chan," Dad called. I whipped my head around. "You should get some rest. It's been a long day."

I nodded slowly as I began walking towards the stairs. "Okay."

"And Ta-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"That Hidan boy isn't one to let go of." He grinned. "He loves you for _exactly_ what you are. He's not concerned with your flaws, and, trust me, you have _plenty._ Instead, he's more concerned with loving _all_ of you, no matter how messed up it may seem." He paused. "He's the type of person worth sticking with."

I looked back at Dad sadly. "Then why do I feel as though I hate him?"

"There's a fine line between love and hate, Ta-chan. I'd figure out which side you're on before it's too late."

I bit my lip and turned, ready to head up to bed. I didn't need to listen to my father's out-of-character advice anymore. I needed to sleep so I could dream of Hidan.

TO BE CONTINUED


	11. When I Loved Her

****

**Author's Note: **Ha, it was kind of strange to read about Orochi being a fatherly figure, wasn't it? XD Trust me, that part was tough to write. Still, I did that to prove that _a few_ people besides Kimimaro were on Tayuya's side. As for those other jerks, well, I hate her brothers, too. Kind of weird to know now though that THEY are the ones who messed with her head, huh? It wasn't Orochi-Daddy like we thought. XD Regardless, this is the last chapter before the epilogue. I hope you enjoy it. Remember that we've switched back to Hidan's point of view, and the epilogue will be the same.

**Title: Religion and Music**

**Chapter 11: When I Loved Her**

Tayuya wasn't in school for an entire week.

I tried not to think about what had happened on Saturday, but my mind was too clouded with visions of my so-called "friends" beating the crap out of each other and trying to kill Tayuya. I didn't get it. How could one girl drive people, real _friends_, to do such terrible things?

I was, in a strange way, happy though. If any of that was going to happen at any time, I would want it to happen once the majority of school was done. There was only about a month or so left of actual instruction, and the only tests left to take were the final exams in each courses. All of the college exams were over, and results came around this time.

It was when I came home from school the next Saturday afternoon that I got news, much better news than the hysterical phone call I had received from Deidara. No, this news was just...

Wow. I stared at the letter in my hand.

I quickly put my shoes and jacket on and walked out of my apartment. After hopping on my bike and starting its engine, I drove into traffic and made my way across town. Pein's apartment was only about ten minutes away.

When I came up to the building, I parked my bike in the nearby lot and went inside. I climbed four sets of stairs before I came upon a familiar entrance. I knocked on the door and waited.

"It's open," I heard Pein call from inside. Slowly, I turned the knob and walked into the room. It was a decent little apartment that was rather clean and relatively well-kept. I guessed that Konan was constantly there, helping her boyfriend out.

"Pein," I called. Soon enough, the orange-haired man appeared in the main room. I narrowed my eyes at him. "We need to talk."

Pein nodded. "Sit down. Would you like some tea?"

"No. Just sit here and talk with me."

He nodded again and did as I instructed him.

I let him have it right at the get-go.

"Why did you do something so fucked up a week ago?" I snapped, my voice trembling with anger. "You _knew_ I had broken up with Tayuya, so why did you go and try to _kill_ her?! You were the one who told me in the beginning of the year that you didn't want to end up in court with murder charges! What _the hell_ were you thinking?!"

Pein frowned and shuffled a bit in his chair. "I want nothing more than to stay united with all of you," he murmured. "I want us to be a gang forever."

I wrinkled my nose. "Tough shit," I spat. "Look at this." I handed him the letter and took a deep breath. Pein looked it over and then looked at me with wide eyes. "I'm quitting Akatsuki," I hissed bitterly. "Kakuzu said that I had to choose between Akatsuki or Tayuya. I've changed my mind. I choose Tayuya. I'd choose _anybody_ over some sicko who killed people for the sake of trying to hold fucked up friendships together."

Pein stared at me. "I thought you liked killing people."

"Not anymore!" I hollered. "Not after what you did and not after what Orochimaru said to me! He said that Akatsuki members don't kill people. He said that the group was just full of mischief-makers, _not_ murderers. I'd have no problem if we were just pulling pranks on random people, but when you try to kill someone who's so..._close_...to another...that's just fucking wrong!" I inched forward in my chair. "There's no doubt that _you're_ the one who told Kakuzu and everyone else that Orochimaru murdered people while he was in the Akatsuki. One of you, either you or him, is lying."

A deathly silence filled the air until Pein smiled sadly. "I'm the liar," he whispered, his lip piercings clicking against his teeth. "I told those lies to bring everyone together and to make them not feel so bad about killing others for the Akatsuki." His head dropped. "It was my own wish to have control over all of you."

I snorted. "You're no better than some totalitarian dictator."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

Actually, looking back on all this, I'm shocked that Pein was being so agreeable.

I exhaled deeply. "Despite your most humble apology," I began sarcastically, "I meant what I said. I'm quitting Akatsuki. I love Tayuya too much to give up on her. She's everything I want. You must understand since you have Konan."

"And what about what Jashin says?" Pein looked at me with serious interest.

I couldn't believe what I was about to say.

"FUCK WHAT JASHIN SAYS!!" I shouted, throwing my hands up. "I don't care if the Holy Book says I can't love. Obviously, if he didn't want his followers loving anyone, he didn't want humans as followers! Humans NEED love in order to survive!" I crossed my arms. "Besides, if all the Jashinists of the world did nothing but hate, there would be no more Jashinists. They'd either kill each other or not reproduce. I'm sorry here, but, from what I understand, the thrill of hate-sex only lasts so long."

Pein nodded. "That it does."

"So I don't give a shit about the rules of love and hate according to Jashin," I hissed. "I love Tayuya. There's nothing else to it. I'm quitting Akatsuki."

Pein suddenly burst out in a hysterical fit of laughter. I actually moved back and braced myself against my chair out of a mixture of shock and confusion. _What the fuck_ was this guy on?! Pein _never _laughed. Pein laughing was almost as freaky as Itachi laughing. He had done that once while having a fight with Sasuke over...something I don't want to mention. Damn, that had been one of the scariest moments of my damn life...

"I was waiting for you," my ex-leader finally sighed as soon as he calmed down. "You're the last one." He looked up at me and smiled. "Everyone else has come to me, telling me they want to quit...every single last one of them."

My eyes nearly popped. "What the...hell?" I managed to choke out.

"Sasori came to me first," Pein explained. "He found out that he was going to attend that art school a little while ago, right? Well, regardless of whether or not Deidara was coming with him, he came to me and told me he was giving the gang up to go to college." He paused and smiled again. "And, just recently, he came over here...with Deidara."

A big, stupid grin suddenly appeared on my face. "You mean...?!"

Pein nodded. "Deidara fixed up a sculpture super fast and sent it to the school. They approved his work immediately." He let out a short, satisfied laugh. "He's going with Sasori."

I was doing a fucking VICTORY DANCEin my head. YES!! _HELL TO THE FUCKING YES!! _That blondie was going to the same art college as Sasori. YES!! My friend had gotten his wish! I laughed and thanked Jashin for his kindness.

"And there's more," Pein added. "In addition to Sasori getting a scholarship, Dei got one, too. Both of them are taken care of for half their expenses."

My goofy grin grew even wider, but it suddenly faded when Pein frowned.

"Not everything is good news," he whispered as he looked up at me. "Zetsu's mental health was classified as severe. He has to attend a special school to help him try to heal as he learns. There's no telling if he'll ever recover completely, though I hear that this institution is a good one. I'm sure he'll be okay." He paused. "He'll be lonely though. Tobi has decided to study abroad."

I almost fell out of my chair. "WHAT?! Where's he going?!"

"America."

"To study what?"

"Politics."

My head spun. President Tobi...? Okay, that was something I did NOT want to picture.

"What about Kisame?" I asked. "What's he up to?"

Pein grinned again. "Kisame is going to go to a school down in Okinawa to study marine biology. He's hoping to get a job as a scientist down there. By the way, Kakuzu is going to a school in the next city over. He's going to become an accountant."

I snorted. "That's no surprise for either of them." Suddenly, I remembered something. I whipped my head forward and gazed at Pein. "What about Itachi?!" I gasped. "You know he's been admitted into the hospital, right?! What's wrong with that poor bastard?"

Pein's eyes immediately saddened, and he looked away. "After he was admitted, he started coughing up blood," he explained. "The nurses knocked him out to see if they could figure out what was causing it, but they couldn't detect anything strange or unusual. They figured that he collapsed and all because of stress. Then Sasuke, who overheard them, told them about Itachi's mess-ups. You know, he wasn't driving well, he was messing up simple tasks, etc. The nurses got nervous and called the doctor. They woke him up and tried out all sorts of tests on him. Nothing brought anything up until Sasuke tried something."

I gulped nervously. "What was it?"

"He asked his brother how many fingers he was holding up."

"And...?"

"Itachi couldn't answer."

My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. _No...fucking...way..._

Pein looked as though he was about to cry. "He's blind, Hidan," he whispered. "All this time, he had an illness that takes away eyesight. There is no cure. Once the eyesight it gone, the disease eventually leaves the body, but it stays until every last element of sight is gone." He paused. "Sasuke was absolutely hysterical when he called me. He was sobbing like an idiot."

"So what's going to happen to Itachi?"

"He's going to take a year off to learn how to adapt without sight. Then he'll go to a special college for the blind. Until then, Sasuke is going to take care of him."

My heart sank. I didn't feel much for Itachi or Sasuke, and I did NOT want to know about their sick relationship, but...still...that poor, unlucky bastard. To lose eyesight at such a young age...it must have been tough.

"And what are you going to do?" I asked, trying to escape the depressing topic.

Pein looked up at me. "I'm going to county college with Konan," he replied, his mood lightening a bit. "We're going to see if we can live together." I almost smiled. "I think she's the one, Hidan. I think I might want to marry her."

I didn't say anything. Normally, I would have asked Pein a million questions as to _why_ he wanted to stay with that blue-haired bitch, but I was in no mood.

Besides, he took care of that for me.

"Can I just ask you something?" he interrupted. "Why _the hell _do you want to be with Tayuya? She's a total psycho, I'm sure you know. She's loud, annoying, mean as hell, a stubborn fool...and she's got no boobs." He crossed his arms. "Just explain it to me."

I suddenly smiled. "When I first saw Tayuya, I thought that she was crazy, too. I thought that she was the exact opposite of what a guy's ideal girl should be." I sighed. "But we're too alike to ignore each other. We _need_ each other." The smile widened. "The best part about being with Tayuya is that I don't need to pretend to be someone I'm not. I can just be me, and she's fine with that. Hell, she practically _is_ the female version of me, yet we have so much to learn from each other. THAT is why I love her." I paused. "If Jashin told me to sacrifice her, I'd convert."

Pein just nodded and smiled. "Well then," he sighed, "you have my blessings." He grinned at me. "Good luck in the future, Hidan. Maybe we'll meet up again sometime on the road of life." He suddenly stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Akatsuki is officially broken up. You're free to do whatever you want."

After I had left Pein's apartment, I had never felt so free in my entire life.

I was still thinking about Tayuya though and why she hadn't been in school for the week. I assumed that it was because she was recovering from the attack, but something told me that something else had to do with it. I didn't know her phone number or her exact address though, so I went to my first source for personal information.

"Dei," I said into my cell, "can you look up where Tayuya lives? Maybe it's on Sakon and Ukon's profile."

"Sure thing, Hidan, un," my friend replied. I heard him turn on his laptop and click the mouse a few times. After a moment, he spoke again. "She lives down on Otogakure Street," he told me. "It's the first house on that street." He snorted. "You can't miss it, un. It's that really ritzy neighborhood near where Itachi and Sasuke live."

I nodded. "Thanks, Dei. I owe you...again."

I hung up the phone, started my bike, and headed for Tayuya's home.

Deidara wasn't kidding when he said it was in a ritzy area. Maybe I'm just used to my tiny, crappy apartment, but DAMN, this house was fucking huge!! It was decorated ornately and had the feel of _royalty._ Jashin, I had had no idea that Tayuya was that loaded!

Nervously, I rang the doorbell and waited for a moment. The door opened.

"Oh!" Orochimaru exclaimed when he saw me. "You're Hidan, right? What brings you here?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sound-san," I murmured, "but I was looking for Tayuya. Is she here?"

The pale man shook his head sadly. "She's out right now." He didn't speak for a few moments. "Maybe you should go talk to her. I think she'll listen to you."

"What do you mean?" I stole a glance inside the house. Holy shit, it was even richer than the outside! But I could only focus on the sad faces inside. The brothers were all there, but they hardly seemed alive. It was as though all of them were possessed; it was freaky.

_Wait a second...Where is...?_

"She's at the cemetery," Orochimaru mumbled, snapping me out of my trance. "She hasn't spoken to anyone in days. She's hardly home. She refuses to eat anything." He gave me a solemn look. "She should still be there. Please...go try talking to her."

I nodded, thanked the man, and left. The cemetery? Why would she be _there?_

I made it over to the local graveyard and, sure enough, saw a black hat and pink hair sitting in front of a tombstone at the top of a hill. Slowly and quietly, careful not to surprise her, I made my way up the grassy terrain and stopped when I was standing in back of her. She sadly rotated to see me, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she just turned back towards the tombstone and buried her face in her palms.

"It was my fault..." she whispered pathetically. "It was all my fault..."

I looked at the tombstone and wanted to die. There...in big letters...

KIMIMARO SOUND.

I sat my ass down next to the girl and stared. Oh my...what the...I didn't even know where to begin! It was such a shock! Kimimaro...he had been just fine when I had seen him a week earlier. Now he was...DEAD?! I couldn't believe it!

My mind wasn't capable of anything intelligent, so I just twisted my head towards Tayuya. "HOW?!" I exploded, not caring if I looked or sounded like a total moron.

Tayuya lifted her head. "Kimimaro has seen a physical therapist every Saturday for the past few years," she explained quietly. "This guy who helped him out...God, he was the best. He was such an awesome guy. He was gentle and loving and really helped our _entire_ family whenever we needed it. He was such a cool guy. He knew exactly how to take care of Kimimaro. Actually, Kimimaro's health was starting to improve _because_ of this guy." She paused to wipe her eyes. "He was sick last Saturday, so the hospital sent over two newbies to give my brother his usual session. What a fucking sick joke...They had no idea what the hell they were doing."

My heart stopped. Holy shit...

"The cause of death was deemed as sudden physical exertion that was too much for his weak heart to handle," Tayuya continued as the tears began falling down her pink cheeks. "That's absolute bullshit. I'M the one who let those two idiots in. I WAS THE ONE WHO OPENED THE DOOR!!" She began sobbing hysterically. "It was all my fault, and now I've killed TWO people! TWO PEOPLE WHO MEANT MORE TO ME THAN ANYTHING!!"

She suddenly fell onto me and began crying against my arm. She gripped my jacket tightly and refused to let go. I listened as the sound of her wails filled the peaceful February night. It was the Chinese New Year, a time for good luck and prosperity, and we had just lost one of the coolest guys I had ever met.

FUCK.

Life sure had a way of fucking with the people, especially the people who already had enough shit to deal with as it was.

But I realized something. There was _nothing_ I could do. I couldn't bring Kimimaro back to life, I couldn't go back in time and stop those idiot newbies from coming into the Sound household, and I couldn't fix all the general shit of Tayuya's life. No...I couldn't do _any_ of that.

The only thing I could do was give Tayuya my shoulder.

So I did.

"It'll be okay," I whispered as I smoothed her pink hair back. "It'll all be okay..." At the time though, I wasn't sure if I was trying to comfort her or convince myself.

Tayuya didn't make eye contact. "I _need_ you, Hidan," she sobbed. "I love you. I fucking _need_ you. You're the only one left. Please...please don't ever leave me...Promise me..."

I nodded and held her close. "I love you, Tayuya. I'll never leave you," I murmured.

"Better not, fucker."

So the two of us sat up on that hill in the cool February breeze and the golden sunset of the early evening. We sat there for hours in front of Kimimaro's grave.

Damn that bastard for dying on us.

I slowly looked up towards the sky with tears in my eyes. I thought, _God, I don't know if You care about me. I don't even know if You'll bother to listen to me because of my religion, but please listen to this girl's sobs. Please have mercy on her and her brother. Please...please bring Kimimaro up to Heaven and take care of him. He deserves, more than anyone else I know, to be happy up there with You. He was one of coolest, nicest guys I've ever met. Please keep him safe up there. Please do it...for this girl. Amen._

Jashin would have to suck it up and wait. There were more important things than worshiping him right now.

TO BE CONTINUED


	12. When We Were Together

****

Title: Religion and Music

Epilogue: When We Were Together

The last few weeks of school passed quickly, and graduation came before I knew it. One minute, I was sitting in class, bitching about homework, and the next, I was walking through the auditorium to take part in the final ceremony of high school. It was weird.

Asuma-sensei, my first period teacher that day, handed out the diplomas to us as soon as the event was over. When he handed mine to me, he smirked.

"Congratulations," he rewarded. "You've earned this. I was really impressed with your improvement towards the end of the year." He suddenly frowned. "Just don't come back, okay? I think you took a few years off my life."

Surprisingly enough, I laughed. It wasn't a really big laugh, but it was enough for the two of us to smile, shake hands, and leave each other in peace.

The rest of the day wasn't much except for a bunch of graduates running around and celebrating their passage into college. Most of them tried to leave the school as soon as possible, making plans to go out or party.

I stayed a little while longer.

Once the rest of the students were gone, I walked down the hallways of the school one last time. I passed Tsunade's office and could see her chugging down sake through the window. I then passed a few classrooms and took last looks inside the ones I had learned something in. The smell of Kurenai-sensei's final pastries of the year had begun to fade from the home economics room, and the chemical smells from Yamato-sensei's room were gone along with all the experiment materials. The book shelves in Kakashi-sensei's room were empty, and the posters from Iruka-sensei's room had been taken down. The gym was empty and lonely, void of Gai-sensei's commands and cheers. My voice echoed when I spoke.

I ran to one last place as I finished up. If this room was empty, then the school year was definitely over.

I opened the door to the bathroom and stared. There were no traces of the art brothers.

That did it. I was no longer a part of high school.

Tayuya and I spent the last few weeks of school seeing each other whenever we could. We spent a hell of a lot more time together over the break before the next school year would start. Tayuya formally introduced me to her family, one by one. Orochimaru seemed like a nicer guy than I thought he would be, which was sort of shocking. I personally think he was just happy that his daughter had found someone.

Tayuya had told me during school one day that her brothers were the real assholes of the family. However, when she introduced me, they were quite polite. Later, she explained that Kimimaro's death had had a major effect on everyone. Losing one of the boys' own brothers must have really taken a toll on them, because I noticed that the entire house was a little...closer, if that makes any damn sense at all.

One day, while we were out, Tayuya asked me what I was doing with myself now that I was a high school graduate. "Are you planning on going straight to work?" she asked.

I shook my head and grinned. We sat on the park bench together on an early spring afternoon, and I figured that it was the perfect setting to tell her. I reached into my pocket and pulled a letter out, the same letter I had shown Pein. "Read this," I told her.

Carefully, the pink-haired girl opened the letter and looked over it. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Holy shit..." she whispered. She looked up at me with glossy eyes. "That's a fucking awesome university!" she gasped. "You're going HERE?! Immortality University?!"

I nodded. "Read the next line."

Tayuya immediately looked at the rest of the letter, and her face turned pale. "YOU GOT A FULL SCHOLARSHIP?!" she practically screamed. "WHAT THE HELL?! HOW?!"

I laughed a bit. "The school just introduced a new religious studies program," I explained. "It's testing it out and looking for students who want to major in that field. I was one of the only ones, so they immediately accepted me and gave me a full scholarship. They really wanted me to come."

"NO FUCKING SHIT!!" Tayuya cried, a huge, stupid smile on her face. She pounced forward, grabbing me, and the two of us fell onto the soft green grass. We laughed together for a little while and then just took a moment to look upon each other. Tayuya's voice was quiet and loving. "Congratulations..."

"Thanks...Tayuya?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?"

That afternoon, I had my first kiss.

A few weeks later, I had to get going for college. I packed everything up into my bags and brought them to the train station. Kisame had already gone down to Okinawa, Tobi had been in America for weeks, Zetsu was already off at the institution, and Itachi was in the hospital was Sasuke, so Kakuzu, Pein, Konan, Deidara, and Sasori sent me off. We exchanged good-byes and good-lucks until I heard the train whistle blow.

"Oh, that's the last call," I announced. I looked back at my friends. "Good luck to all of you. Pein, Konan, I hope you guys get everything figured out soon. If you get married and own the inn, can I stay free? I'll be poor after all."

"You already are, bastard," Konan giggled. I was about to make some rude comeback when she leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She smiled. "Good luck, Hidan. I'll miss you."

"You can come whenever you want," Pein added as a smile grew on his face. "If you ever need a place to stay, come back here. We'll give you a good meal and some shelter for the night. Good luck with college."

I shook his hand. "Thanks."

Deidara suddenly slapped a hug on me. "I'll miss you so much, un!" he practically sobbed. "You'll come back and visit, right? You'll come to see my art shows, un?"

I nodded. "Of course I will." I played with his blonde hair. "You just keep it up with Sasori, okay?" I turned to the redhead. "Don't you go hitting on any artsy chicks, alright? You've got everything you need right in front of you." I pushed the blonde into Sasori's arms, and they both smiled.

"Don't worry," the toy-maker sighed. "I'll keep this guy safe and happy." He wrapped his arms around his lover and held him close. Deidara's face turned pink yet happy.

I grinned and turned towards Kakuzu. "I'll miss you a lot, money whore," I hissed jokingly. My friend just snorted amusedly and slapped me on the back.

"We'll see who makes a million before thirty."

I smirked and turned towards the train. "I have to get on now," I told everyone. "Thanks for sending me off. I'm sure you'll all do well in college." My friends nodded and waved as I made my way onto the train with my bags. I set them down in the nearby cargo area and looked out at them one last time.

Something pink caught my eye. I opened the train door and looked out into the crowd to see Tayuya with a bitter scowl on her face. Her chocolate brown eyes were narrow, and her face's color matched her hair's.

"DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK, MOTHERFUCKER!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, silencing everything in the train station.

After a long, awkward moment of silence, my lips curled into a smile. Suddenly, I let out a huge, hysterical laugh and waved at my girl. She picked up her arm and waved back as the tears fell down her cheeks. "Damn it!" she shouted. "If you're going to leave me, you BETTER fucking LOVE that school and do damn well in it!"

I couldn't pass up a request from her.

I fucking LOVE this college. It's everything I wanted it to be.

I only have a few weeks before I need to go back, so I figured I'd come see what had changed about the city. There's a new kid working the bar where Kakuzu used to work, and he's not bad at what he does. Otherwise, the bar hasn't changed. The park is the same as always, too.

I haven't seen a lot of my friends in a while. I did get the chance to stay one night with Konan and Pein once during my summer break during freshman year. The inn is really nice with good food and good beds. Konan and Pein seem to be happy together.

At another point during the summer, Kisame invited all of us down to Okinawa for a weekend. Konan, Pein, Deidara, Sasori, Itachi, Sasuke, and I showed up. I was a little upset that Zetsu couldn't take even a day off from his recovery, but I supposed it was in his best interest. Kakuzu dudn't come, claiming the flight cost too much money, that bastard. Still, I was just glad to see Itachi up and about. He had learned to get around with his cane, so he and Sasuke agreed to fly down with us. I was also happy to hear that he had learned brail in record time, so at least he was able to read again.

That weekend, we spent most of our time on the beach, playing like idiots and not caring who saw. We all got drunk on Saturday night and passed out on the hotel floor. Good times.

However, none of us had gone out to the beach on Friday night. Why? Well, let's just say that the art brothers had found their vacation alternative to the high school boys' bathroom. Ugh.

I haven't heard anything from Tobi though. I'm guessing he's still studying in America, but I really have no idea.

But enough about the gang. Here I stand on this hill, the first of the cherry blossoms starting to fall behind me. I sigh. Looking back on all of this had made me realize just what is important in life. I sill worship Jashin, hell yes, but love is a part of my life. There will always be hate, I know, but love for one specific person can change the way another sees the world.

I look towards the school in front of me. It's Shinobi High. I was always the kid who claimed he would never return, but now I find myself drawn to it. I know that there's a special someone inside, and she just finished her second year of school.

I see her.

"TAAAAAYUUUUUUYAAAAAAA!!" I cry, spreading my arms out wide. The entire student population looks up at me like I'm some sort of mental case, and I can see the horrified expression on Tayuya's face. The crowd thins a bit, so I can see her better. She now has an angry expression.

"FUCKER!!" she screams. "I TOLD YOU NEVER TO COME BACK!!"

I wait. She rubs her eyes.

And when she brings her hands away, there are tears, lots and lots of happy tears.

She runs up the hill towards me and leaps into my arms, happily crying quietly. I hold her close and run my fingers through her hair. Jashin, I missed her. I missed her strawberry hair and her chocolate eyes, her skinny arms and her tiny fingers, her soft skin and her lack of boobs, her curses and her hugs. I missed all of her so damn much.

"You came back," she whispers, looking up at me. "You actually came back..."

I nod. "Come with me," I order her. "I want to show you something." I take her hand and lead her down the hill towards the street. There's my motorcycle...with a little addition. Tayuya gasps and I smile. "I had it fixed so it can fit two people," I explain. I pet the back seat. "Hop on. I have a helmet for you, too."

The two of us board the bike and put our protective gear on. Tayuya wraps her arms around my middle, and we speed down the street towards the cemetery.

Once there, we walk up to Kimimaro's grave. Tayuya clasps her hands together and murmurs something; I'm guessing it's a prayer for her brother's soul. We both bow together before the grave, and the wind begins to blow.

I smile. "I think he's happy and safe," I sigh, "wherever he is."

Tayuya nods. "Can we come back later with some flowers?"

I nod back. "Sure."

We slowly board the bike and head for my apartment. Once there, I park the machine and lead Tayuya up the stairs. While I was away at college, I asked my landlady to keep an eye on it since I would be needing it when I came home. She agreed and promise not to charge me for the months I would be away.

Tayuya grins when I open the door. "You kept it clean," she realizes. "Heh, a hopeless dumbass like you actually kept it clean."

I roll my eyes and pull two strawberry ice cream bars from the freezer. "Here." I toss one to her. We eat in silence. Tayuya leans on my shoulder and sighs contently.

As soon as we're done, we throw the sticks away. I wrap my arm around my girl's shoulder and kiss her forehead. "Do you mind if I do a quick ritual?" I ask. "It won't take very long."

Tayuya shrugs. "Just don't get too bloody."

I nod and push the bed towards the wall to reveal the Jashinism symbol. It's faded a little bit from lack of use, but it's perfectly capable of holding a proper ritual. I pull my scythe out, close my eyes, and start making little cuts.

About five minutes into the ceremony, I hear Tayuya's backpack open. She opens up what sounds like a box, and I hear metal clashing together. Once it stops, I hear a few notes.

She's playing her flute, and she's playing it more beautifully than ever before.

I smile and remember something I had learned during my first few weeks of introduction courses for the religious studies major. Did you know that some small cultures of the world actually have entire religions that center around music?

Somehow, I think that a little change has to be made to the Jashinism Holy Book. There needs to be a section on songs or just some kind of music. Other religions, everything from big-name ones to the practically unknown ones, have some sort of musical affiliates.

After all, religion isn't complete without music.

THE END

**Author's Note:** Well, it's been fun. This has been my first ever AU high school fic, and I hope that you enjoyed it. Reviews are loved very much. I ask that if you have any constructive critique for me that you take a moment to let me know what you loved, what you hated, and what you think needs work. Like so many other authors out there, I'm always looking to improve. By the way, I love fanart and other gifts like that. I have a DeviantART account, so if you want to draw something from the fic, don't be shy. Let me know! I'd love to see it!

HIDAN X TAYUYA FOREVER!!

Gothic Dancer


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